When Paths Cross
by The Grey Wolf Ghost
Summary: A seemingly normal kid, who was kidnapped by the CABAL, what happens when he escapes and finds himself on the run as the CABAL closes in, what happens when Ashley finds him and brings him to the Sanctuary? Who is this kid, why does the CABAL want him so badly, is he really as normal as he seems? OC. 1st season will go to 4th. Please Read and Review. Chap. 7 up
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First attempt at a Sanctuary fic, this is one of my favorite shows so I hope this fic does it justice. I owe a big thank you to Sanctuaria who Beta'd this for me, without her help I would've been lost. This takes place in the first season, but the plan is to take it through all four seasons if I can. Please be kind for this first chapter and let me know what you think. This is told mainly from first person perspective, but I do have a part in here that is third person, it was necessary and you will hopefully see why. I will update this as often as possible, but it will not be on a weekly basis. Enjoy!

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Feeling returned to my fingers, my first clue that my body was taking control. The fog that had occupied my mind for an indeterminate amount of time faded. I had lost track of the hours, the days. However long I had been sitting here, restrained and apparently drugged, was beyond me. I couldn't remember anything.

Whatever I had been drugged with had been effective. It had been working in my system, but I had been so compliant that my dosage must have been lessened.

Once I had regained control of my movement I was able to remove the restraints. They were easy enough, a simple clip that held both of my wrists to the armrest. I rubbed my wrists carefully as the cuts on them healed quickly.

I looked around, taking in my situation. I was in what looked like a mix between a hospital room and a steel prison cell. Aside from the chair I had been strapped too, there was a bed and a toilet. I knew I had not used either of those, though my memory was still hazy. All I could remember distinctly was the chair, not where I had been before this room or how long I had been in it.

My mind was remembering flashes, nothing concrete. The drug was still in my system; it wouldn't be long before my rapid healing eradicated it from my body, but it was still taking longer then I liked.

Now that I had control, I knew I had to get out of the room. I looked up at the ceiling, looking for surveillance cameras. Surprisingly, I saw none, there was nothing of the sort on the ceiling, there was however something that made me grin…a vent, one which was just large enough for my small frame to fit through.

Problem was, I didn't see any of my belongings, I was naked from the waist up wearing a pair of loose fitting sweatpants, my shirt and jeans were gone, wherever my shirt was I assumed my sneakers and jacket was with it. I would not leave without my bag. It was not going to happen.

If my returning memory was correct, vents led all over creation in a building and this one shouldn't be an exception. If I had any hope of finding my stuff, I might have an easier time traveling through the vent, peeking into rooms and looking for my stuff.

I knew as far as an escape was concerned it wouldn't happen in a vent. But my captors might not realize that. I climbed on top of the chair and pushed the cover to the side. I pulled myself into the vent. I was right in my calculations; it was just big enough for me, and even though I'm pretty skinny I had to really squirm to squeeze my body inside. Anyone bigger than me wouldn't get far: they'd be lucky to get their upper body up here. And if they did, they'd probably get stuck.

Footsteps coming down the hall caught my attention, at least three sets, one of those sets a woman with heels. I was careful to make as little noise as possible as I crawled to a part of the vent that bent around a corner. I slowed my breathing and made myself virtually invisible. I heard the door below me open and the three pairs of footsteps entered.

"Damn it!" the woman shouted, "How the hell did he escape? You assured me that the sedative you gave him would immobilize him!"

"I'm sorry ma'am. We underestimated his healing ability. I was just in here, he was completely comatose," a male voice replied. He sounded familiar, but at the same time didn't.

"Why wasn't he restrained better?!"

"Again we underestimated his body's ability; we were under the impression that simple restraints would be more than sufficient! Who knew how he'd react once he became more lucid and aware of what was going on!"

"Could he really get far in that vent?!" the woman shouted again. There was a long pause. "Find that boy! I don't care what you have to do! Find him or you will be picking a plot in the cemetery. It is essential that he is brought back under our control! I will not lose him; he belongs to us!"

Her heels clicked on the tile floor as she walked out of the room. My mind began turning. Why was I so valuable to them? What did they need me for…and who the hell were they to act like I was their property?

I expected the other two to leave as well, but I was surprised to hear shifting below the opening as one of them climbed onto the chair and looked into the vent.

"Do you see anything?"

"If he came up here, he's deep in. Luckily this particular vent only goes to the lab and back. He'll hit a dead-end in about thirty-yards and either find himself in the lab or come back this way."

"What if he's just hiding?"

_Damn it all,_ I thought.

"He won't be hiding long. The heat is going to kick in; he'll have to move one way or the other. It's going to get very hot up here, even his healing ability won't protect him from the burns. He'll survive them and heal from them, sure, but they will hurt like hell."

"I'd feel better if we did a sweep, that way we can at least tell Ms. Whitcomb that we did all we could. And if we find the little freak even better! Go get the camera."

"You go," the guy with his head in the vent retorted, "I really don't think he's going to stay up here, he's too smart for that. Kids are smart and resourceful, especially when trapped, and this one's had a lot of practice at it."

The second pair of footsteps left and I prayed my calculation on how many there were was right. As quietly and quickly as possible I scooted towards the vent's opening. The guy was correct, the heat had kicked on; it was searing my bare back as well as my feet. I could see the back of the guy's head as he surveyed the other side of the vent.

My instinct to kill was overwhelming. My life was in danger, my freedom was in jeopardy, and therefore my mind was encouraging my killer instinct. But I was able to ignore it, to fight it.

Instead I inched closer, brought my knees up to my chest and before he knew what was happening, my feet connected with his head. He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

I dropped to the tile and reached down to check his pockets, searching for a clue, anything. His ID badge was clipped to his lab coat and in his pocket were his keys…and his key card, bingo!

I took those and got his wallet. Dr. Foley wasn't a millionaire, but he did have about sixty bucks on him and his credit cards, including a bankcard with his pin number scribbled on the card itself. Idiot.

A photo in the wallet caught my attention; he had pictures of his family in here, for cryin' out loud. He had kids, my age! How could a father do this? Even if it was his job, how could he kidnap a kid from the streets, lock him up, drug him, and experiment on him and in the same day go home and hug his own kids?

I knew everyone has to make a living, but this was wrong. I wondered how many other kids they had locked up here. But mainly I wondered,_why me?_ Did they really know about me beforehand? Or had they gotten lucky, nabbed me thinking I was just another street kid, and then discovered I was a little bit more than your average twelve year old? It was so frustrating that I couldn't remember getting grabbed.

I remember arriving in New City, sort of. I know I took the ferry and it was warm, so warm that I would've been okay sleeping outside. I don't actually remember sleeping, so that must've been when they got me, while I was looking for a place to crash.

I resisted the urge to kick Dr. Foley. I'd clean him out, that would be my revenge. I'm not very strong, but I was able to drag Dr. Foley over to the chair. After sitting him up, I cuffed both his hands into the same cuff, making it tough for him to get out of the restraints if he woke up, plus he was on the floor, so it would be even more difficult. I shoved his ID, cards, keys, and cash into my pockets and headed to the door.

I held my breath, praying that the door would open. When it didn't, I nearly had a panic attack. Then I remembered the key card. It beeped as the door clicked open, revealing a long hospital like corridor.

I've got a pretty good sense of direction and my gut was telling me to go left. My backpack was priority number one, a way out was second, and if I managed to find more clothes on the way then hallelujah.

I hesitated for a brief second wondering if I should've grabbed the Docs lab coat and sneakers before locking him to the chair, but it was too late now.

My biggest concern as I snuck down the hallway was finding a place to hide if anyone came by, but my choices were limited. Luckily the hall remained deserted and, walking as quietly as I was, I would hear any footsteps coming my way.

A strong smell wafted past my nose and made my stomach erupt with growls…it was pizza. I didn't know how long it had been since I had last eaten, hours, days, bloody hell was I hungry. I changed my priority list, food first. I followed the scent and snuck around a corner. A security guard was at his desk, snoring. In front of him sat a large cheese pizza, only a couple slices missing.

My mouth watered; I was so hungry. I couldn't stop my body as it walked towards the pizza. I grabbed five slices, stacked them on top of each other, and bolted.

Down the hall I found an unlocked closet. I was careful not to eat too fast, I didn't know how long it had been since my stomach had food in it, and I didn't need to be sick during an escape attempt. It wasn't easy to eat so slowly, one bite of the pizza made me want to stuff my face. However, I was good and careful, but even so it was all gone before I knew it.

I didn't even have time to sit and digest, as an alarm went off, echoing throughout the whole building. I opened the door slightly and saw the herds racing by. Apparently Dr. Foley had been discovered, and I wondered how long until I was discovered too.

Quietly I left the room as the group of soldiers headed down the hall. My time to get out of here just got shorter and I knew I had to act quickly. I left my keen sense of direction and just ran the opposite way, praying that I would get lucky and be going towards the right place. Every time I heard footsteps on the tile my heart skipped a beat, wondering if I was about to be caught.

I took a corner to fast and wiped out onto the floor. I hit it hard and felt my ankle snap. I had to shove my fist in my mouth to keep from screaming in pain. It wouldn't take long for the injury to heal, but that was time I didn't have. I pulled myself into a sitting position and rolled up my pant leg. My ankle was turning a deep purple and was definitely broken.

I took a deep breath, counted to three, and set it back into place, once again I had to hold my breath to keep from screaming, but like I had counted on, my rapid healing kicked in faster with everything set and I felt my ankle heal within seconds.

However my little detour was not unnoticed as my luck ran out. I heard footsteps coming from behind me, quickly.

"Bloody hell," I muttered taking off again down the hall. I didn't get very far however as I ran into something solid.

"Gotcha!" the something sneered, holding me tight, reeking of alcohol and B.O. "Hold fire, I got the freak!" he shouted tightening his grip on my arm. He whipped me around and held his big hairy arm tight against my throat, cutting off needed air supplies and assuring that I couldn't get away.

"Lemme go!" I shouted, muffled, trying to wiggle free, even though I knew it was useless. The thing that made my heart sink even more than the defeat was the room that lay to my left. It was another lab of some sort, but sitting on the table was my backpack. _Damnit_! I thought.

"Knock it off, Freak!" my captor growled shaking me a bit, "Or I will put a bullet through your head; let's see how long it takes for you to heal from that!" The rest of the troops had joined us by this point and were all grinning and laughing and congratulating him.

The next sound I heard made my blood run cold even though I wasn't sure why, my memory telling me nothing. But for some reason my body reacted to the sound of a woman's heals clicking on the floor.

She came around the corner a pleased smile on her face.

"Excellent work," she said to the guy, before looking me straight in the eye, "What were you thinking, Travis, that you could just walk out of here all by yourself? It isn't safe for little boys to be out this late. You are much safer here." I stared at her for a second. They know my name, at least my current name…how? I hadn't told anyone my name, real or otherwise and I certainly didn't have any of my names written down somewhere for them to find. "You are far too valuable to let go. You belong to the Cabal. You have always belonged to the Cabal."

"What the bloody hell is a Cabal!?" I shouted.

"That is not your concern, think of it as your new home…permanently." She smiled. "Put him in a level four cell, extra restraints and double his dosage. I also want round the clock guards, at least two posted inside the cell at all times. No one leaves or enters that room unless I give the order."

With that ringing command, she left, her heels clicking on the floor sending another chill up my back, though that could have been from my body going numb from lack of oxygen. Most of the soldiers turned and left, save for the one holding me and another very large wrestler-size guy who had a goodly sized gun pointed at my heart.

As we started walking, I knew I had to be quick and efficient. I could feel the guys sidearm in his holster; he hadn't used it to capture me and had left it carelessly on his belt. I hoped it was not only loaded, but the safety wasn't on.

My heart picked up speed as we neared a lift, I would have only one shot at this I had to make it good. The second soldier hit the down button on the lift and I could hear it coming our way.

5…4…3…2…1…

The doors opened and I made my move. I took the guys sidearm and in the same quick moment fired two shots, the first to his partner's back of the head and the second was to the man…He had let me go when the first shot sounded, and I took that moment to shoot him right in the heart.

His partner fell into the now open elevator, and as the first guy started to go down, I leaned over so he also fell in.

I was shaking and I felt sick…I had killed before, being as old as I am it's impossible to avoid the whole kill or be killed thing. But it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with murder; even during wartime I wasn't comfortable with killing for my own survival.

I felt my stomach turn and I threw up everything that had been on my stomach as the blood pooled around the two soldiers. Tears stung my eyes as I wiped my mouth. I still felt sick, but I had to get out of here. I had just killed two of their own; valuable or not, there were plenty of ways to punish a murderer, even one who will heal from most injuries quickly.

I reached into the elevator and hit the lowest number I could, apparently this building went down fifteen floors…well these guys were heading there.

Once they were on their way I bolted back down the hall to the room where I had seen my backpack. This was a blessing…finding my bag…that is and I wouldn't ignore that blessing.

Not only did I find my bag, but my sneakers, jeans, and tee-shirt were sitting next to it, with tags on them and my name along with the letters Abn Imm S vm. I didn't know what those letters meant and I wasn't going to stop and find out. I had my belongings, so I was out of here.

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He was being chased and had been for a good fifteen minutes or so, no matter which alleyway he darted down, which fence he scaled, he could hear the pounding footsteps right behind him. A shot rang out through the night and he felt a rush of air zing past his ear, they were shooting at him. It wasn't like he hadn't been shot at before, and it certainly wouldn't be the first time he'd been shot, but that didn't make him more anxious to be hit.

Another sound filled the night, a motorcycle, Yamaha, maybe a Kawasaki, he'd bet his, well, his life on it. He picked up speed, there had to be some place he could lose his pursuers, he just had to use his instincts, he was old enough to survive, and this would be no different. He slid to a dead stop as he faced a dilemma: left would lead him towards the motorcycle, going right, towards another chain-link fence with electrified wire at the top.

The motorcycle was getting closer. So were the footsteps, one bike, at least ten sets of feet. He didn't like those odds at all—fence it was. Taking a deep breath he backed up a few steps and took a running leap at the fence, and, grasping the links tight, he began to scale it quickly. He was nearly at the top and prepared himself for the coming shock; he took a deep breath and reached out for the wire. He heard the shot first, then a split second later felt the hot metal enter his back; it must have gone right through his backpack. He felt it exit through his chest and instinctively grasped at the wound and lost his grip on the fence as he plummeted towards the wet pavement below.

He heard the motorcycle skid to a stop nearby, just as the rain began to come down in earnest. He felt his blood washing across the dirty alleyway towards a drain…an open drain just large enough for his small frame to fit through. If he could drag himself over to the opening, he'd be safe. None of his pursuers would follow him; they'd assume he was dead.

He was so close, he just had to stay awake long enough…a few more feet. He heard the click of a gun being cocked into place and recognized the sound as right above his head. _Crap,_ he thought. He closed his eyes and waited for the shot and death.

The latter didn't come, he did hear a shot, but the shot took out the handler of the gun aimed at his head. He heard the gunman hit the pavement near him and tried to breathe a sigh of relief, but instead his body erupted in pain, beginning to feel life start to leave his body.

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So what's the verdict on the first chapter, good, bad, eh? I really hope the jump to third person wasnt confusing. Again thank you Sanctuaria for all your help!


	2. Chapter 2

Ashley kicked the gun away from the dead man's hand. This was the last of the nine decked-out commandos that had been chasing this kid, the only one who had kept up the pursuit, the only one who had fired a shot at him, and the only one Ashley didn't have to think twice before shooting down.

She reached down and put two fingers at the nape of the boy's neck, feeling that his pulse was weak and getting weaker.

"Hang on kid," she whispered. She carefully lifted him up; he was surprisingly light as she carried him to the waiting motorcycle.

It was a short ride from where she had found the kid at the edge of Old City to the Sanctuary, but by the time she crossed the gate, the kid was barely breathing and as her mother along with the Big Guy rushed the kid to the medi-lab, she had a feeling he wouldn't make it.

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Ashley was making a sandwich, though she really wasn't that hungry; when her mother came into the kitchen a look of distress on face.

"Is he okay?" she asked. Helen took a deep breath and shook her head.

"We did all we could, but he died about ten minutes ago." She pulled up a chair opposite her daughter and sat down. "He couldn't have been more than thirteen. How did you find him?"

"I was following a lead, heard that a large group of heavily armed commandos were hiking around down near the edge of Old City. Rumor was they were Cabal. I wanted to know what they were up to and if we needed to be concerned. One must have split from the group and was chasing him and shooting off rounds, shooting to kill. He managed to nail him as he tried to scale an electric fence. I took care of him like the other nine just as he was about to shoot the kid in the head, but I guess I didn't make it in time for him," Ashley finished. "I don't even know why they were after him. He's only a kid, and it's not like he could fight back." She reached under the table and pulled out a well worn backpack. "There's no weapons, no gold bars, nothing in here that would interest an adult, just normal kid stuff." She paused. "Is he…was he human?"

"As far as I can tell, yes." Ashley reached into the backpack and began pulling out the contents. "Anything that can tell us his identity?"

"Nothing, like I said, just normal kid's stuff." She paused pulling out a tee-shirt and a pair of jeans rolled up together and shoved in the bag "change of clothes, walkman, headphones, sketchbook, pencil…well, hello, guess I was wrong about the weapons." Ashley extracted two knives: one a Swiss-army knife, the other a much older, small dagger sheathed in leather. Its handle was made of animal bone, but was carefully wrapped in the same leather that made up the sheath. "Mom look at this thing!" she handed the knife carefully across the table. After examining it for just a moment, Magnus shook her head in surprise.

"The leather on this knife, it's at least two hundred years old, maybe more."

"Do you think he stole it?"

"It's impossible to say." Helen paused "Ashley hand me the sketch book." Ashley gently pulled the book out from the bag and handed it to her mother "These sketches are remarkable; he obviously had a talent."

"Well, he was definitely a street kid, but I'd still like to know why those GI Joes were chasing him and why they killed him."

"Unfortunately, unless the dead figure out a way to talk, we may never know."

Suddenly the swinging door to the kitchen burst open, Bigfoot was in the doorway a look of surprise on his face.

"Dr. Magnus, the boy…he's waking up!" Helen exchanged a look with Ashley

"Impossible, I pronounced him dead, he had no pulse, there was no brain activity whatsoever!" she exclaimed, standing up.

"Well, there is now, the heart monitor showed a pulse and color is returning to his skin. He's alive."

Bigfoot didn't need to convince Helen and Ashley of anything else; the pair of them abandoned the boy's belongings in the kitchen and took off towards the med-lab.

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I felt an instinctive deep breath fill my lungs as life returned to my body. Off to my left I could hear a beeping that matched my heartbeat, starting off slow as my heart slowly revived itself.

The tingling washed off my body as feeling returned to my extremities. The first thing I felt was cold. My eyes slowly opened and I understood why it was hazy. I was covered only by a thin sheet, my shirt was gone, from the waist up I was naked…again. I sat up, slipping the sheet off my face, but was pulled back as the wires attached to my arms and chest stretched to their limits.

Where the heck was I? A hospital? I looked around, didn't look like any hospital I'd ever seen, though I made it a point to avoid hospitals for the obvious reason.

The beeping noise turned into a loud screech as I yanked the suction cups off my chest, before it went silent. I could see medical equipment all around me and felt my heart pick up pace, had those Cabal goons chasing me caught me when I died? I knew I was in some kind of lab, but not the same lab I had been in hours before…it felt different, safer even.

Damn, I had hoped I made it to the drain. I tried to think about the last thing I remembered, a gun aimed at my head, a shot, but not at my head, at the guy holding the gun.

Wherever I was, security sucked, big time. I expected at least some alarms to be ringing or a guard. I carefully slid off the table and jumped as I realized my sneakers were gone along with my shirt and backpack. Not again. Double damn. I had to find them, but where to start looking and how long did I have before the guns came out?

Not long apparently, as I heard the sound of footsteps running towards me. I quickly looked around for a place to hide. There was absolutely nowhere that would suffice, everything was open and exposed. I could only see one exit and that's where the footsteps were coming from.

I took a deep breath and jumped back onto the table. I threw the sheet over my head and stayed as still as possible, keeping my breaths shallow so much that I know it appeared I wasn't breathing at all.

Two sets of footsteps entered the room and I heard the door lock behind them. One was walking cautiously towards me, one the more surefooted. Both were women, one younger than the other, but not by much.

The older one was at the table, reaching towards the sheet. I could see her outline through the material. I willed my body to relax and kept my eyes closed as she pulled back the sheet.

I felt her hand touch my neck as she felt for a pulse and felt her dart back as she discovered one. I tried to stay still, but she shocked me…literally, I yelped and jumped off the table, hitting the floor hard I winced from the pain.

The blonde girl had a gun pointed at my head while the dark haired woman put up her hands, trying to defuse the commotion.

"It's all right, no one is going to hurt you," she said gently, my ears perked as her accent filled them. She's British, that made things a little better. I've found that I can reason with English people better than most Americans. I've lost a lot of my own accent, but there's still a hint of it and with those familiar with it can pick up on it. I've gotten good at distinguishing my accent to fit whatever nationality I'm impersonating, so it was relatively easy to slip back in to my old accent… Behind her, the blonde girl edged towards me, gun still pointed my direction "Ashley, put it away; he's not a threat."

"The dead kid is walking around breathing and very much alive, and you say he's not a threat?"

I held up my hands, showing I was unarmed, also showing her that there were no wounds. I was not injured, no reason to think I was dead.

"I'm sorry you thought I was dead. I can assure you that I'm not. Thanks for your hospitality, but I'd really like to get out of your hair, so if I can just have my shirt and backpack and possibly my shoes, I can be on my way and it will be like we never met."

The two women exchanged a look. The blonde one lowered the gun, slipping it into a holster, but she did keep her hand on the handle just in case. The brunette walked over to another table and lifted something up. My eyes went wide as I realized it was my tee-shirt, soaked with the rain and…I gulped…my blood, a very noticeable bullet sized hole that went through the shirt front and back. Crap.

"Are you going to tell me that this does not belong to you?" the brunette asked. "I find that hard to believe since I removed it from you myself."

"Maybe?" I asked. The doors slid open; I quickly gathered my options and took my chance. I threw the sheet at the blonde distracting her for just a moment as I bolted towards the exit and freedom. I didn't get far though as something big and hairy blocked my path, I ran into said hairy obstacle and landed back on my butt.

The last thing I expected to see blocking my way was Bigfoot, but that's exactly what stood in the doorway. He glared down at me and my eyes went wide, what the hell were these people keeping here!? I've seen a lot in my lifetime, but this was a whole new one on the holy-crap-o-meter.

"Doctor?" the Bigfoot growled looking at the brunette. And it speaks…now that's the clincher, I had to get out of this mad house, but ape-man was being very effective in blocking my path to freedom. He held out his hand to help me up and I backed up, slipping on the cold tile floor. I didn't want to get near Annie Oakley, but I also didn't want to be near King Kong either.

"Sweetheart it's okay, I promise no one is going to hurt you, but you need to listen to reason," the brunette said.

"I don't have to do anything, lady, except get out of here."

"Kid, I watched you, you were shot point blank through the back, your shirt here proves that. What I don't get is how you're not only walking and talking, but doing so without a scratch on you," the blonde interrupted.

"I'm a fast healer?" I answered truthfully.

"You were dead," the blonde argued.

"Was I?" I shot back, "Prove it." I stood up slowly.

"Regardless." The brunette raised her hands putting an end to the argument. She walked over to me slowly. "My name is Dr. Helen Magnus, this is my daughter Ashley, and—"

"Let me guess, Lurch's hairy half brother?" I asked looking at King Kong. This comment seemed to amuse the three of them as they began laughing, something I didn't expect.

"In a manner of speaking," he answered.

Once again I began to wonder what kind of mad house I had been brought too and cursed myself for not making it to the storm drain.

"What is this place?" I asked "It's not a hospital, is it?"

"It's the Sanctuary," Dr. Magnus answered.

"Sanctuary?" I repeated. "Sanctuary for whom?" Then it dawned on me as I looked at Bigfoot. "Or is it what?"

"Correct on both," she replied. "I understand you are anxious to leave, and you will be allowed to do so."

"But?"

"But the truth of the matter is that my daughter brought you here with a fatal wound, I pronounced you dead, and the next thing we know, you are alive and fully healed. I would like to know how and even why that is the case."

"Am I to be a science experiment then?"

"If you'd like to think of it that way, that is fine, but I'd prefer you to think of it as a doctor's examination."

"Never had one of those to be honest." I paused. "And afterwards you'll let me go?"

"If you'd like, however, in addition I am offering you a warm bed for the night and all the food you can eat. Tonight you do not need to worry about where you will sleep." She had a point there, it would be nice to sleep in an actual bed, something I hadn't done in a while. Not to mention not having to worry that I was going to get mugged or something while I slept.

"Fine…you've got a deal," I grumbled, "but first, where's my stuff?"

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To say I was stunned was an understatement. After handing me back my belongings (minus my sneakers) Dr. Magnus and Bigfoot gave me a brief tour of their so called sanctuary. Things I never believed existed and things I had never even heard of were everywhere. They even had a bloody mermaid for cryin' out loud.

This place was amazing and frightening at the same time. I also felt safer here, like I belonged, like I was free, something I hadn't felt at the other place…there I felt like an experiment, a prisoner, with no other purpose then to be experimented on.

I found myself curious; a part of me didn't want to leave, if only to understand this place. But the other part of me—I'm calling it the smarter part—wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

I had a feeling that while these creatures may be protected here at this sanctuary, they were also prisoners, for their own good and the good of the world. I didn't want to become one of these "guests." The sooner the doc did her physical, the sooner I could get the hell out of here.

I followed Bigfoot and Dr. Magnus up through an elevator and into a normal looking section of the sanctuary, looking more like a house then a hospital. She opened one of the doors down the hall and ushered me in. The room was huge, or at least huge by my experience. I had never had a room this size or any size to myself like this and I had to turn to her to make sure this was mine.

"It's yours for as long as you'd like," she promised. I wandered in, looking around, and gently dropped my backpack on the bed. "Tomorrow you and I will order you some extra clothes and they will be yours to keep."

"I've got clothes ma'am."

She chuckled. "You have an extra pair of jeans and a very well worn T-shirt, those do not count."

"Eh, right," I muttered.

"So you haven't told us your name."

"Didn't I?"

She chuckled. "No, you didn't."

"Trev," I said softly, "It's Trev."

"No last name?"

"Look. IF you're planning on using that information to locate my parents or family you're gonna be out of luck. I'm an orphan. My parents have been dead for years and I've got no other family." Quickly I looked around the room; I've always been really good at thinking on my feet, especially when it came to names. I used whatever I could find for a last name since I've never known my real one. I don't even think I have a real one to be honest. The overhead light caught my eye, light…light bulb…Edison, Thomas Edison. Play on the name a bit, "Trev Thomason."

This answer seemed to satisfy the doctor at least temporarily and she let it go, but I had a feeling she'd be digging deeper and I would have to be out of here before she dug too deep. I just hoped whatever her 'physical' meant, did not include anything like shots or being shot. I didn't want to heal and have her actually see it.

"Well Trev, my offer still stands even more so. You are more than welcome to stay here for however long you want."

"Thanks, Dr. Magnus." I glanced over at the doorway where Big Foot was still standing "Look, not that I'm scared or anything, but nothing's gonna come in here while I'm sleeping, y'know with your 'sanctuary for all' spiel."

"You have nothing to fear, honey." I reached into my backpack to feel for least my Swiss-army-knife. I'd feel better with that under my pillow tonight. But it was gone, so was my dagger. I heard Dr. Magnus clear her throat behind me "Trev, you won't find them in there."

"You…you guys took them?"

"You won't need any weapons tonight Trev."

"Right, that's why your daughter carries around two 9mms, a hand grenade, and a tazer with her?"

Dr. Magnus smiled at that and chuckled a bit.

"Fair enough. I will return them to you under the condition that you promise not to use them. They are to stay on this dresser here understood?" I thought this over and nodded. She nodded to Bigfoot who reluctantly handed over my small dagger and my pocket knife.

"Thank you." I mumbled holding both weapons tight for a moment before depositing them on the dresser as promised. She nodded her appreciation and handed me a pair of pajamas.

"These might be a tad to large on you. I will wake you at 7:30 for breakfast, you have your own bathroom and we have provided towels, soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush if you'd like to freshen up before bed." She paused. "My room is right down the hall, three doors down the left on the right hand side, if you need anything. I'm usually awake for most of the night."

"Right." I muttered, making my way over to the bathroom and ducking inside. I heard the bedroom door click close and knew I was alone.

I didn't need to "freshen" up, but I did splash some warm water on my face, just to make sure this wasn't some elaborate nightmare that I had concocted. It wouldn't be the first time, but the water assured me this was very real.

I reached into the shower and turned it, giving the impression that I was in the shower in case someone…or in this place, something, came in.

Once I was satisfied the sound of running water would deter any visitors I snuck over to the window and tried to force it open, I wasn't surprised but I was disappointed when it wouldn't budge. I glanced out the window which looked out onto a courtyard, I could see the New City lights across the river, there had to be a way out of this insane asylum.

I quietly made my way over to the door and cracked it open. At first I heard nothing in the hall, but movement caught my attention, I saw a flash of blonde and rolled my eyes, Barbie was keeping an eye on me, great.

I sighed and quietly shut the door. I was trapped, literally trapped in this loony bin for freaks, being guarded by Big Foot and Packing Trigger Happy Barbie. Why the hell did I agree to stay here? I was better off on the streets than here.

Suddenly a flash caught my attention, I vaulted over the bed and returned to the window. A downpour of epic proportions had started up again. I made a face. What a choice, house arrest or drown in the monsoon outside.

I sighed and pulled the shade down, I was better off here—at least it was warm. The steam from the shower had snaked its way into the room, I felt sleepy from it, really sleepy. Might as well actually take the damn shower and get some rest.

I just hope I could be up early, long before the rest of the house was awake and make a break for it. Then I could put this entire nightmare of laboratories and soldiers and Bigfoot far, far behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

My goal was to be awake before 7:30, long before it and be long gone. But I repeat my argument; I've never had such a comfortable bed to sleep in, not once in my life so I ended up sleeping longer then I normally would have. I have my body on a pretty good alarm clock, but I was so exhausted and so warm I ignored my instincts.

I didn't wake up until I heard Dr. Magnus calling me. I glanced at my watch and groaned at realizing it was past 7:30, hell it was almost nine.

"I let you sleep a little longer, you obviously needed it." she said. I made a face, but luckily I was under the covers so I didn't feel guilty. "I do hope you are hungry however." I groaned a second time as my stomach betrayed me and let out a loud growl. "Well I suppose that settles that question." Dr. Magnus replied laughing.

After breakfast, which I will admit was filling and delicious, I followed the good doctor back into the elevator. We didn't speak as I nervously looked around. I reached for my necklace and rubbed it for reassurance. I was not unaware of Dr. Magnus glancing over.

Instead of going to the room I had revived in, we went to a more private exam room. Well it was made to look private, I could see a glass window that I had seen on like cop shows the two way glass and I wondered who was on the other side…Barbie, Bigfoot, some other creature I hadn't seen.

Computer screens and desk tops were scattered all around the room, as well as other equipment I didn't recognize. Through a glass window opposite the two way mirror, I could see a giant machine with a table attached to it, looking like a giant doughnut.

"So do you really think I'm one of these, whatcha call it…abnormal?" I asked

"At first glance you appear very normal." Dr. Magnus answered, gesturing for me to hop onto the table.

"Thanks," I replied, "I think." I lifted myself up onto the table.

"However there is the fact that you were brought here and you did die last night. I saw your wound myself and there isn't a scratch on you this morning."

"Don't believe in miracles, Doc? I mean for starters you have a mermaid in a giant fish tank, that right there is a bloody miracle."

"I believe in miracles, Trev, but I also am a scientist, I need to understand how that miracle occurred."

"That's what a miracle is, you don't get to understand it or it loses its amazement."

"That is very logical."

"Yeah, you learn to be logical if you want to survive."

She looked at me quickly when I said that. "Trev, may I ask, how old are you?"

I've gotten good at just saying how old I look; I've never hesitated to lie. But I was taken aback by her question, probably the first time that has ever happened to me when asked the age question.

Something about Dr. Magnus made me feel comfortable around her, like she could understand me… More importantly, I felt as if she could relate to my longevity, but I had no idea why I was feeling this way.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you the truth. So we'll go with thirteen."

She gave me a look and continued with the physical, I could tell she wanted to know why I didn't think she'd believe me, but was respectfully leaving it alone for now.

"Would you object to some simple blood tests?" she asked and I shrugged.

"I guess not."

"Can you roll up your sleeve?" I complied and winced as she extracted a large needle from a kit. "You'll feel a little pinch, that's all." I started to remind her that I had been shot and therefore was not a stranger to pain, but I figured it was in my best interest at this point to keep quiet. She cleaned my arm with alcohol and came at me with the needle. As she basically sucked up my blood I glanced over. I've seen my blood before, but seeing it in a little tube gave me the chills, especially when I noticed it seemed to shine oddly especially when the light refracted off of it. "There, all done." Dr. Magnus said, bringing me back to reality. She handed me gauze to stop the bleeding as she put a stopper in the test tube and reached for a band-aid.

I felt the small pin prick size wound heal beneath the gauze and winced as Dr. Magnus pulled the gauze away and went to put the unnecessary band-aid on. She gasped a bit and nearly dropped the band-aid.

"Sorry," I mumbled

"It is true, I did not believe it, but it is true."

"That was a minor prick," I replied, "the smaller the wound the faster I heal. Something big takes a minute or so, possibly more if it's very big, like a gunshot." I reached over to the table and picked up a small scalpel.

At first Dr. Magnus made a move to stop me, but she hesitated and let me continue. I took a deep breath and made a deep cut on my arm. The blood began to flow almost instantly, but I made no move to wipe it away.

Instead I let the blood drip down my arm as I held it out for Dr. Magnus to see. I felt the sparks in my arm as it began to heal. Her eyes grew wide as the wound healed itself, leaving only the blood as a reminder of the wound inflicted on it.

"Incredible," Dr. Magnus breathed as she handed me a cloth to wipe the blood off. "Trev, I am going to share something with you because I do believe you were not truthful about your age and I believe perhaps if I opened up to you, you might do the same for me."

"Okay…" I replied, more than a little confused.

"How old do you believe I am?"

I blinked, she looked like she was in her thirties, but I'm old enough to know that people get kind of testy when it comes to their age, especially girls.

"Um, twenty?" I guessed. She chuckled at that.

"Thank you for that, but I know you are thinking of another number. It is all right to be honest."

"Thirty-five," I guessed again. It was right in the middle; I figured I would be safe with that answer.

"What would you say if I told you I am 157?"

My mouth dropped open. I was speechless for a good few seconds. I had never met anyone who even came close to half my age, but she was closer than anyone I had ever met.

"No…no way," I stumbled over the words "how is that possible?"

"That my young friend is a very long story, one which I will be glad to share with you later." I looked at my hands, I wanted to tell her, but I wanted proof that she was that old, physical proof, after all, they would be wanting the same from me. "You do not believe me."

"It's not that Dr. Magnus, I just…" I paused. "No, I don't," I admitted. If we were truly being honest with each other here I would take the first step—at least the first step until she proved to me her age.

"Fair enough." She paused. "We need to take an MRI of your brain, just part of the physical. While you are in the machine I will run up and retrieve the proof you seek." She turned to the door and nodded. It swung open and Big Foot entered, followed closely by a guy carrying a computer tablet. "Trev, you have already met the Big Guy," I raised an eyebrow…that's what they call him, Big Guy? "This is Henry."

"Hey Kid," Henry exclaimed holding out his hand "good to meet you, welcome to the Sanctuary."

I timidly shook his hand

"They will stay with you during the MRI until I return, is that all right?" I nodded. "Please explain to Trev how the machine works and begin. I will be right back." And with that Dr. Magnus left.

Now it was just the three of us, me, Big Foot, and Bill Gates. Big Foot looked at me expectantly and I returned the look.

"You need to get on that table," he explained. I slowly hopped off the exam table and even more slowly made my way to the MRI machine. I laid down on the table reluctantly and nervously glanced around. I didn't like this, not at all.

"Shoot," I heard Henry mutter, "I don't get it, these two cannot get along—it's like impossible for it to happen." I glanced over at him. He was flicking the tablet. Big Foot grunted at him. "I'm trying Big Guy, it's not responding."

"Is it frozen?" I asked sitting up.

Henry looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah."

"Can I see it for a second?"

He exchanged a look with Big Foot who shrugged, then handed the tablet to me. I've self taught myself computers and hacking, after all I've been around longer than computers and I've been with them as they have developed and got faster and more productive. I'm no computer genius, but I'm pretty good with them. I tapped the device a few times in key spots and looked at the side of it carefully. One push of the button had the device chirping happily. "I think I got it fixed for now, but you're going to need to run a level three diagnostic temp frag to reboot the whole system, or this is going to keep happening." The pair of them stared at me as if I had three heads, which in this place someone might. "I taught myself codes and hacking…sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? Kid this is awesome! As of this moment I am crowning you my assistant."

I started to tell Henry that I wasn't planning on sticking around, but I figured arguing would get me nowhere. Instead I laid back down on the table without a word.

"Stay perfectly still." The Big Guy grunted "the more you move the longer this takes."

"Okay."

I'm really good at staying still, when you have to play dead every once in a while you learn how to control your breathing and your body. I felt the table move and I jumped a bit as it did

"It is okay; do not be afraid." Big Guy added, trying to reassure me. I just wanted this over and done with.

The entire test lasted about ten minutes, five minutes of my head being in the hole of the giant doughnut and the other five my entire body passing through it. By the time it was over Dr. Magnus had returned, in tow a blondish-brown haired bloke with glasses.

"Trev, this is Dr. Zimmerman," she announced.

He held out his hand to me. "Will, please," he added.

"Hey," I replied, shaking it.

"Will and I would like to talk to you while your results are tested," Dr. Magnus said pleasantly.

"Er, okay," I said hopping off the table and following her and Will out of the lab room and back into the elevator.

I don't know how many levels we went up, but when the doors slid open, we were back in the normal-looking part of the house. Dr. Magnus walked down the hall a few doors and held one open for me, gesturing inside.

"My office," she explained. She pointed out one of the chairs opposite the desk and motioned for me to have a seat. Will took the chair next to it and she sat behind the desk. "Would you like something to drink? Soda, coffee, tea?"

I usually drink whatever I can find. I've never had a preference, though I've also never really been offered a choice. It sounds kind of sissy, but I kind of wanted a cup of tea. I hadn't had it in a long time and loved the taste of it.

"Tea please?" I asked timidly. Dr. Magnus seemed to smile at that and pressed a button on her desk.

"The usual please, two cups of tea and coffee for Will," she spoke into the receiver before looking up at me.

"Thank you," I said softly.

"Well Trev, we have many questions for you and I'm sure you have quite a few for us as well. But first things first, you asked for proof that I am as old as I stated correct?" I nodded. "Finding distinct proof is difficult as you mentioned before sometimes you have to rely on faith and miracles, yes?"

Again I nodded. She reached into her desk and pulled out several framed photographs and handed them to me. The first couple were of her and several powerful and well known figures, but these were recent, American Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, even Princess Diana and South Africa's President, Nelson Mandela.

But the more I flipped through the older the photos seemed to get and the more historical the figures themselves became, to the point where I wasn't sure I was seeing who I thought I was seeing…after all, these people had been dead for a hundred years or more, but in each photograph, there was Dr. Magnus unchanged.

"157?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes…"

"How?"

"The reason behind my longevity is as I said a long story. I will be happy to share it with you at a later time. But now that you have seen my proof, I will ask you the age question once more."

"You still won't believe me…for one thing I have nothing but my experience and memories to prove it…I have no reason behind it, I cannot explain it."

"Try, sweetheart. We only wish to help you."

I winced at that and couldn't look at either of them.

"You've been running a long time, haven't you?" Will asked and I nodded.

"As long as I can remember."

"In that time, have you had anyone you could rely on or trust?"

"Once in a great while…but I've gotten good at taking care of myself. As long as you're careful and smart you can last forever on the streets. I've been all over the world surviving on my instinct and experience and up until recently it's kept me safe. I mean there's the once in a while time I get nabbed by a social service goody. I've been thrown in my fair share of orphanages and group homes, but I've always managed to get out of them."

"Let us skip the age question for a moment. When Ashley found you last night you were being pursued by what could be described as an army. Do you remember last night at all?"

"A bit…I remember running and I remember getting shot, but that is all," I said softly, admitting that I had been shot…it was pointless to deny that fact any longer. Dr. Magnus had seen my wound herself, she had removed my shirt with the bullet hole through my back, she had seen my wounds heal right in front of her.

"What about before that?"

The lab flashed in my mind…the woman with the heels on the tile floor, being called property of the Cabal…I didn't want to lie to Dr. Magnus and Will, they might be able to help. This wasn't something I had experienced before—most everything that comes my way I can handle on my own without help, but this was different and I knew it.

I was faced with something that was new to me, but I didn't want to admit this aloud nor did I want to give Dr. Magnus and Will this knowledge, fearing that by knowing it put them in danger.

"Nothing…I remember arriving in New City on the ferry, but after that it's all a blur until I was in the alleyway." I finished. It would be left at that and until it became necessary I wouldn't mention the lab, the Cabal, any of it. I hoped maybe I could put it behind me like some nightmare never to speak of it again.

I could see the look in Dr. Magnus's eyes, she obviously didn't believe me on that, but also seemed to realize I had to trust her at my own pace…mainly because I was about to disclose something I had never told anyone before…

"Then we will leave it at that…now back to the age question. Trev, how old are you really?"

I took a deep breath

"To be honest…I'm not exactly sure of my true age. I can give you a ball park number and that will have to suffice. Calendars and dates weren't really important nor available where and when I was born."

"Which was?"

"From what I can remember, I was born in Scotland…somewhere in the north…I don't know the name of the village and I certainly don't remember my clan name I don't think I had one to be honest. I can tell you that I do remember the first time I even heard of a year…it was 1607…by then I was the age I appear now, but I had been alive for at least a lifetime already, so I've estimated I was born around 1520 maybe 1510, perhaps even earlier then that. But that's all I can tell you."

Will and Dr. Magnus stared at me for a moment, Will looked like he was unconvinced, but Dr. Magnus seemed to believe me.

"And you haven't aged a day since you turned what twelve?"

"I suppose…my grandfather—at least that's what I called him—he wasn't my real grandfather he told me that twelve winters had passed since my mother came to their village seeking refuge. She gave birth to me a day after entering the village."

"Did he know where she had come from?"

"No…she wouldn't say. He only told me what he knew because he said I was growing up and was man enough to be told. He said a man who would lead a clan needed to know his own past if he were to lead others, a man had to be strong enough to handle his own past. He wanted me to become chieftain of the clan when he died, I was the only son he had ever known and though I called him grandfather he was more like a father to me. He told me that my mother had been banished from her own clan because of me…that the clan hadn't wanted me because of my father and had wanted to execute my mother and me for her defilement. She claimed she had been raped, but her parents hadn't believed her."

"This may be a difficult question Trev, but did you ever learn who your father was?"

I shook my head.

"No, Grandfather did not know, he only knew that he was an outsider who had been offered a place to rest within her village and had taken advantage. Grandfather suspected he was an English soldier…they were known for doing stuff like that, especially back then, but it wasn't like there was DNA testing back then, so we never knew and I never pried into it."

"When did things change?"

"I guess it started when I was nine or so, my friends were all experiencing growth spurts and I was not, I was far behind them in maturation. It wasn't until I was turning fourteen did things really become obvious I hadn't changed in years even, and I barely looked twelve years old…and within a year after that the entire village became suspicious. Not only was I not aging, but every little scrap or injury I received healed faster than a normal wound. Grandfather tried to keep things under control for a while, but…" I felt a pain in my chest. "…my own mother was leading the charges…she claimed witchcraft… blamed my father for burdening her with a demon. She riled everyone up, proclaiming that they had to destroy me to save my soul, whatever was left of it. I should've been fifteen by this point, my friends were all in their adult bodies, many of them were already growing facial hair and some of my older friends were preparing to marry even. While I still looked like a child. The village came for me one night…I was asleep when they knocked down the door. It took three of them apparently to drag me out, I mean, look at me, I'm not a big guy, but they weren't taking any chances: three grown men against one small kid. I remember they dragged me to the center of the village, wood had been stewed around and a caber had been left in the middle. It didn't take a genius to figure out what they were about to do." I paused and looked at Dr. Magnus and Will, though Will still looked skeptical, he like Dr. Magnus were both horrified and shocked by my story.

"I remember screaming for my mother as they tied me to the caber, I was terrified because I knew what was coming, but I didn't understand why. Not until I saw a glow of fire light…my mother was holding the torch, she had a dead look in her eyes like she had no remorse for what she was about to do. I was not her son I was an abomination that needed to be destroyed to save whatever bit of her son had survived. That got the rest of them going… clan members I had known all my life turned against me. They shouted that I was a changeling, left by demons in the forest, while the real Tavish had been taken to their home in the faiyre land. The reason I hadn't aged was because I had foolishly forgotten to make myself look older. After that accusation my mother didn't speak to me…not one word, she simply touched the torch to the dry straw and ignited the pyre."

My hands were shaking, I had never told anyone what had happened to me that night, this was the first time I had ever spoken of it aloud, but it is one of my clearest memories, I cannot remember much from my childhood, after all it was centuries ago, but I do remember that night like it happened days ago instead of hundreds of years.

"I remember feeling the flames licking at my bare feet, the smoke was suffocating I couldn't breathe even though I kept screaming for my mother to save me. I knew death was coming and even though I kept screaming I had accepted death. Before the fire could consume me I heard a familiar shout and felt myself being cut loose from the caber and pulled onto the back of a horse. The rider galloped away from the pyre and the village and it wasn't until we were a good mile or two from the village did the rider stop the horse and face me. It was my grandfather he had saved me. He apologized for what had happened. He assured me he had tried to stop it and when that had failed he took the next step and rescued me, but he reminded me that I was no longer welcome in the village, that much he couldn't change. I would be killed on the spot if I returned.

He brought me deep into the woods, miles from the nearest village. I had only gone there once, hunting a stag a year or so before with my grandfather. No one went into that wood except the Chieftain. The clan was superstitious, they believed ghouls and other creatures of the underworld stalked the woods… including a great beast, covered in hair, moving like a man but could not speak. It was said to take children and devour them."

I saw Dr. Magnus and Will exchange a look. I hoped Dr. Magnus now understood why I had been so frightened of the Big Guy.

"It was because of these tales and suspicions, Grandfather thought it would be perfect to hide me: no one would dare step foot there. After everything that had happened there was the slightest inkling in the back of my mind that he might have brought me to the woods to give me a more peaceful death. Kill me with a sword rather than burn me alive. Give me the death of a Chieftain's son rather than an abomination. Instead he gave me as many supplies as he had carried, including the dagger and some food and promised me he would return in the morning. I was on my own that night…it was the first time I had ever been alone. I was so scared I don't think I even slept. I didn't expect grandfather to return, in fact I was positive he had left me to die."

"So he returned?" Dr. Magnus asked.

"Yeah, the very next morning as promised. He spent the next few days teaching me survival, stronger hunting skills, and better fighting skills. His visits became shorter and less often, until he stopped coming all together and I knew I was truly on my own. I never knew if he stopped coming so I could learn to survive on my own or if something happened to him, at the time I didn't dwell on it. I had to look out for myself; I was on my own." I paused and looked at them. "And since then I have been sort of…I've been nabbed by cops and thrown in foster care, but I've always managed to escape it. I've been arrested for larceny and thrown in more jails then I care to remember. There is nothing pleasant about the Bailey Courthouse and Newgate Prison. Neither of them are high on my recommendations for accommodations, and neither is any juvi place in either the US or Canada."

Dr. Magnus looked up at me quickly. "You are 157 years old, Dr. Magnus, that means you would know workhouses and places like that were still in full operation well into the end of the 19th century, well I was a guest of a few of them. I did what I had to in order to survive. I am not proud of every aspect of my past, but I have accepted that it was for my survival." I finished and looked at both adults expectantly. Dr. Magnus seemed to have accepted what I had told; Will on the other hand—he looked beyond skeptical.

I took a deep breath, this wasn't going well…and this was exactly why I have never told anyone. It's impossible to believe. Dr. Magnus at least had proof of her age, I had nothing. I have literally the clothes on my back and a well worn backpack that contains my entire life. My knife is my only proof of how old I truly am. Both the leather sheath and the knife belonged to my grandfather, and his father, and his father before that, both are well over a thousand years old, but how do you prove that?

"Trev, do you remember where you were born? Perhaps the general vicinity?" Dr. Magnus asked.

I closed my eyes for a second, I could picture my home I could picture the rolling hills and the forest I had lived in for years after my grandfather stopped coming. But the problem is, Scotland looks like that all over the entire highlands. My village could have been anywhere in Scotland and the way the English were invading and the clans refused to come together, my village could have been destroyed hundreds of years ago.

I looked back at the pair.

"You don't believe me do you?"

Dr. Magnus started to deny it, but just by the way Will looked at her I could see she believed me, he didn't. But Dr. Magnus clearly wanted to know why, more specifically how, something even I couldn't answer.

The door opened revealing Big Guy, carrying a tray full of coffee cups. He set the tray down on Dr. Magnus's desk and handed the cups to each of us and set a bowl of sugar cubes and a small cup of milk down as well.

I hesitated for a second before reaching over and scooping sugar cube after sugar cube into my cup. I looked up when I felt three sets of eyes on me, Dr. Magnus, Will, and Big Guy looked at each other and began chuckling.

"Sorry," I replied setting the spoon back into the bowl

"Darling, you need to stop apologizing so much."

I grinned a bit and nodded. I took a sip of the tea and my grin widened; I looked up at the Big Guy and nodded.

"It's delicious," I said, "Thank you." I paused. "May I use the bathroom?"

"Of course, it's left down the hall third door on the right."

I set the tea down and quickly left the room. But I didn't head to the bathroom. My goal was to get back to my room, grab my stuff and leave.

"Poor thing." I heard Dr. Magnus say.

"Can we really believe all this?" Will replied, I stopped in my tracks, listening carefully.

"It is not so difficult to comprehend." Magnus answered "Look at me."

"But you're not claiming to be nearly five hundred years old and a kid."

"No, I am not, but he is and I believe him."

"Okay, let's say hypothetically he's telling the truth; he believes he was born in the 16th century." Will argued. _I believe?_ I thought, _I don't believe it, I know it. Bloody hell I have lived it!_ "How is it possible?"

"Henry?"

My ears perked up, Henry was there? Dr. Magnus must have had another entrance into her office.

"We've run every blood test we can think of on him, comparing it to abnormals with similar abilities, but none of them even come close to the healing factor the kid has. Physically as far as we can tell he's twelve years old, at the oldest." Henry paused. "But unfortunately, Doc, there's no way to tell how old he really is, everything about him matches up for an eleven or twelve year old, even his teeth. He even has one baby tooth left and all of his wisdoms."

My tongue instinctively touched the tooth that Henry spoke of, the one thing that should have separated me from my childhood, my constant reminder that I may have stopped aging at thirteen, but my body had begun the process years before.

"From my examination of Trev last night and this morning he had no injuries on him, even signs from last night are gone, no scar no marks. The rate that his body repairs itself is remarkable. Minor wounds repair themselves in seconds and more serious wounds seem to take only minutes to heal on the surface and continue to heal internally."

"How do you explain last night? The machines, you pronounced him dead, he had no vitals."

There was silence as Dr. Magnus contemplated an answer to the Big Guy's question and I found myself wondering as well. I had always just taken what happened to me as it came. I don't know if death is the right description for what occurs. I know I pass out when the wound is serious. I know I don't dream, I don't feel anything.

I don't know if I die in that sense of the word, but my mind puts me on like hibernate mode and I don't remember anything from the time I pass out until I feel numbness leaving my body, slowly allowing me to awake.

"I cannot explain last night." My shoulders sank, Dr. Magnus seemed to be the only one who could have told me anything and she was just as unsure. "I did send some of his blood-work to James of the London Sanctuary. James has a theory of course, but nothing substantial until he has run more tests—that and he would like to meet Trev in person."

"Just out of curiosity Doc, what kind of theory?" Henry asked.

"James and I came to the conclusion that only one other race of abnormal shares some of Trev's unique abilities."

"Are you certain?" I heard Big Guy speak up and I leaned closer to the door straining to hear, I was so close to the door I was surprised that he hadn't smelt me.

"Okay, someone want to enlighten me here?" Will spoke up, sounding more confused than anyone else in that room.

"Thousands of years ago there was an ancient race of abnormal who ruled humanity, ruled is an understatement however, humanity was enslaved by these abnormal and lived in fear of the power their masters held. It took cooperation among humanity and fierce wars against the abnormals, but they were eventually overthrown and weakened enough so to be hunted to near extinction. For the most part the race was annihilated and the survivors were sterilized. Though up until about the 17th century remnants of the race was present in Europe and parts of Asia, before it was completely extinguished with only genetic descendants to remain where the gene stayed dormant and for the most part unnoticed. This race was gifted with unmatchable speed, intelligence, strength, and immortality. Even severe injuries were survivable and would heal with rapid speed. Of course, there has only been one or two documented cases of a descendent with the genetic makeup, for the most part that particular gene has faded with each generation after the first."

"And you think Trev is one of these, that he's a carrier of this gene?"

"Yes, I believe Trev was born with the genetic coding which gives him his abilities, I also think he is closer to the first generation then anyone realizes."

I backed away from the door now and stopped when I hit the wall, could this be correct? Could I be a descendent of the ancient race Dr. Magnus had spoke of, the one that had enslaved humanity? What kind of monsters had my ancestors been, how had they come to be…?

"The abnormal goes by many names, but are most well known by a single name, one that has many connotations in today's world…Vampires, Sanguine Vampiris."

I felt my stomach drop as my body sunk to the floor, my stomach began to twist into knots and I felt like I was going to be sick. I wanted answers, but this wasn't the answer I wanted. I'm not a monster…a freak maybe, definitely a thief, but I'm not a monster.

My mind told me to run, run away from this, but my legs buckled underneath me and I fell against the wall. I slid down the wall to the floor trying to wrap my head around all of this.

A vampire…for one thing did I didn't believe in them, ghosts, vampires, things that go bump in the night, I didn't believe in any of it. Heck, before coming to this place I didn't believe in any of the stuff I had seen in the last 24 hours, and now not only was I learning the last thing I expected to be real was actually real, but not only that, but I was one, or at least the descendent of one.

Wait…Dr. Magnus had said I was closer to the first generation then anyone realized, my god…my father, I never knew anything about him, bloody hell, was he a vampire?

My stomach felt queasy and I covered my head with my hands, I couldn't stay here, I had to leave this place. I'd pickpocket enough money, buy enough supplies and disappear into the wilderness. I can rebuild my cabin, I had it in the middle of nowhere a hundred years ago, no one ever found me. Then I can do that again hide for the next hundred years.

But I had to stand up, I had to move and I couldn't…I couldn't stand, heck, I could barely breathe, my chest was tight, was this what a heart attack felt like, or a panic attack, was that what I was experiencing, was that even physically possibly for me?

I started breathing heavy, hyperventilating, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. In any other place I wouldn't have been afraid, but in this place, who knew what was grabbing me. Needless to say I was very surprised when I looked up and saw Ashley kneeling at my side.

"Are you okay Trev?"

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion, after all, Ashley had been tailing me since I woke up here, she obviously didn't trust me, but the look on her face was general concern.

"Define okay?" She looked at the closed office door and back down at me

"I'm guessing you heard something you didn't like?"

"More like wasn't expecting." I mumbled. Ashley sighed and stood up, to my surprise she held out her hand.

"Come on, kid, let's talk."

Against my better judgment, I accepted her hand, she pulled me up and headed down the hall, sighing, I followed her, away from the talk of vampires and ancient abnormals.

She led me to the roof, one of many parts of the sanctuary I had yet to explore. She walked right to the stone wall and sat down leaning against a gargoyle. I was much more timid to do so, I was still suspicious of Ashley Magnus, and pretty sure she wanted to toss me off the roof. Even though I knew I would survive, a fall like that would hurt like hell.

"Come on, I'm not going to throw you off, I promise." Ashley spoke up, a genuine smile on her face.

"Right," I answered softly.

I took a deep breath, trust must work both ways. I slowly walked over to her and sat down against the gargoyle across from her. I couldn't help as my eyes shifted and stared in amazement. It was New City, it was just getting dusk so the lights on the buildings across the bay were just beginning to turn on. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time.

"I guess you and I kind of got off on the wrong foot, huh?" Ashley said bringing me back to reality.

I shrugged, her words not mine.

"I suppose."

"Kid, I usually don't admit stuff like this and if you tell Henry or Biggie you'll regret it, but you scared the hell out of me." I shrugged again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." I paused. "Look, I didn't get a chance to say thank you, you saved my life…and not the way you think." I took another deep breath.

"Are you really six hundred years old?"

Now I grinned.

"Naw, I'm only about four hundred and ninety or so, maybe five hundred. To be honest I don't know." I paused and looked out at the city. "Is your mom really 157 years old?" Ashley nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what does that make you?"

Now Ashley laughed.

"Not even close to that. I'll let my mom explain it."

I nodded and sighed.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"Did you figure out who shot me? Just out of curiosity."

"We have a good idea." Ashley paused. "You don't remember anything?" I pulled my knees closer to my chest and didn't answer her "Trev?"

"Who are they?"

"You really like answering questions with questions, huh?"

"It gets me my answers." I replied, "Usually."

"About a month ago we had a run in with a group called the Cabal." My stomach dropped and my mind flashed, '_You are far too valuable to let go, you belong to the Cabal you have always belonged to the Cabal.'_ "We raided this tomb in Scotland and found three powerful ghouls that they had been keeping on ice for hundreds of years. The Cabal attacked here at the Sanctuary and in order to stop the attack the sisters went back to the Cabal."

"Sisters?"

"Something to do with King Arthur and Mor—"

"Morgana LeFey?" I interrupted.

"Yeah how did you know?"

I grinned and shrugged.

"Who doesn't know the King Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana LeFey story. I remember hearing about the Moragan once, witches with unbelievable power to kill armies of men in a single thought. They were legends, folktales I'd hear." I paused. "Merlin's story was always a favorite of mine. After I lost everything, a part of me wondered if I really did possess magic like everyone believed, it would make my life easier. At first it was a thought of revenge, but then maybe I could use it to help them understand, maybe be accepted again." I put my head down. "Maybe my mother would love me again."

Ashley didn't say anything for a minute, she just looked out at New City. She seemed to hesitate for a second before she reached over and patted my shoulder once.

"I can't imagine that." I looked at her and she was actually smiling at me. "Look, my mom's going to say the same thing, but you know you can stay here for as long as you want, right?"

"Yeah, I appreciate it, but I don't stay places long. The longer you stay somewhere the easier it is to be tracked."

Now Ashley looked at me oddly.

"Tracked? You mean like last night." I didn't answer "Kid come on, you know you're safe here, right?" She paused. "I mean you've seen the defenses Henry has."

"No one is ever truly safe, anywhere. Even in their own home. Evil has a way of finding you, ignorance, death, cruelty, hatred, pain. You figure that out when you've been around a long time, after the first hundred years you still have a flicker of faith that there is a such thing as a safe place, I mean Dr. Magnus probably knows that much."

"And after?"

I put my head down.

"Right around the one hundred and ninety mark you start feeling less safe and more alone, you brush it off as loneliness and still hold out the hope that maybe you'll feel like you did when you were a kid. And by the time you're two hundred you've become a bitter recluse like myself. I haven't felt completely safe and home in over four hundred years and being here in this place isn't going to change that. A few days are all I feel safe with." I lowered my voice staring out at the city lights, wondering if I had said too much.

"You know about the Cabal, you know it was them who were following you, don't you?" I didn't say anything for a second before I nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I…I wasn't planning on staying here…I figured let your mom study me then in a few days I will be gone, and I won't bring them to you guys. I can hide myself, especially now that I know they're after me."

"So when they were chasing you-"

"I kind of made them a little angry."

Ashley put up her hand.

"Five hundred years you've been on your own right?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"How about just giving home a try, maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

"And just forget about my arch nemesis?"

Ashley hopped off the stone ledge and held out her hand. I eyed it suspiciously.

"Let's see what my mom has to say, I think we might have an answer for even that."

xxxxx

Just a quick note to thank my three reviewers. I wasnt sure if this was any good so I'm happy and humbled that I have any reviews and readers! So thank you Sharpsnout, Guest, and Onthecoast16! You guys rock! And newcomers I highly recommend checking out Sharpsnout and onthecoast16's fics, both of them are fantastic authors I have enjoyed reading. Anyways, thanks guys! Till next time!


	4. Chapter 4

The door opened revealing Big Guy, carrying a tray full of coffee cups. He set the tray down on Dr. Magnus's desk and handed the cups to each of us and set a bowl of sugar cubes and a small cup of milk down as well.

I hesitated for a second before reaching over and scooping sugar cube after sugar cube into my cup. I looked up when I felt three sets of eyes on me, Dr. Magnus, Will, and Big Guy looked at each other and began chuckling.

"Sorry," I replied setting the spoon back into the bowl

"Darling, you need to stop apologizing so much."

I grinned a bit and nodded. I took a sip of the tea and my grin widened; I looked up at the Big Guy and nodded.

"It's delicious," I said, "Thank you." I paused. "May I use the bathroom?"

"Of course, it's left down the hall third door on the right."

I set the tea down and quickly left the room. But I didn't head to the bathroom. My goal was to get back to my room, grab my stuff and leave.

"Poor thing." I heard Dr. Magnus say.

"Can we really believe all this?" Will replied, I stopped in my tracks, listening carefully.

"It is not so difficult to comprehend." Magnus answered "Look at me."

"But you're not claiming to be nearly five hundred years old and a kid."

"No, I am not, but he is and I believe him."

"Okay, let's say hypothetically he's telling the truth; he believes he was born in the 16th century." Will argued. _I believe?_ I thought, _I don't believe it, I know it. Bloody hell I have lived it!_ "How is it possible?"

"Henry?"

My ears perked up, Henry was there? Dr. Magnus must have had another entrance into her office.

"We've run every blood test we can think of on him, comparing it to abnormals with similar abilities, but none of them even come close to the healing factor the kid has. Physically as far as we can tell he's twelve years old, at the oldest." Henry paused. "But unfortunately, Doc, there's no way to tell how old he really is, everything about him matches up for an eleven or twelve year old, even his teeth. He even has one baby tooth left and all of his wisdoms."

My tongue instinctively touched the tooth that Henry spoke of, the one thing that should have separated me from my childhood, my constant reminder that I may have stopped aging at thirteen, but my body had begun the process years before.

"From my examination of Trev last night and this morning he had no injuries on him, even signs from last night are gone, no scar no marks. The rate that his body repairs itself is remarkable. Minor wounds repair themselves in seconds and more serious wounds seem to take only minutes to heal on the surface and continue to heal internally."

"How do you explain last night? The machines, you pronounced him dead, he had no vitals."

There was silence as Dr. Magnus contemplated an answer to the Big Guy's question and I found myself wondering as well. I had always just taken what happened to me as it came. I don't know if death is the right description for what occurs. I know I pass out when the wound is serious. I know I don't dream, I don't feel anything.

I don't know if I die in that sense of the word, but my mind puts me on like hibernate mode and I don't remember anything from the time I pass out until I feel numbness leaving my body, slowly allowing me to awake.

"I cannot explain last night." My shoulders sank, Dr. Magnus seemed to be the only one who could have told me anything and she was just as unsure. "I did send some of his blood-work to James of the London Sanctuary. James has a theory of course, but nothing substantial until he has run more tests—that and he would like to meet Trev in person."

"Just out of curiosity Doc, what kind of theory?" Henry asked.

"James and I came to the conclusion that only one other race of abnormal shares some of Trev's unique abilities."

"Are you certain?" I heard Big Guy speak up and I leaned closer to the door straining to hear, I was so close to the door I was surprised that he hadn't smelt me.

"Okay, someone want to enlighten me here?" Will spoke up, sounding more confused than anyone else in that room.

"Thousands of years ago there was an ancient race of abnormal who ruled humanity, ruled is an understatement however, humanity was enslaved by these abnormal and lived in fear of the power their masters held. It took cooperation among humanity and fierce wars against the abnormals, but they were eventually overthrown and weakened enough so to be hunted to near extinction. For the most part the race was annihilated and the survivors were sterilized. Though up until about the 17th century remnants of the race was present in Europe and parts of Asia, before it was completely extinguished with only genetic descendants to remain where the gene stayed dormant and for the most part unnoticed. This race was gifted with unmatchable speed, intelligence, strength, and immortality. Even severe injuries were survivable and would heal with rapid speed. Of course, there has only been one or two documented cases of a descendent with the genetic makeup, for the most part that particular gene has faded with each generation after the first."

"And you think Trev is one of these, that he's a carrier of this gene?"

"Yes, I believe Trev was born with the genetic coding which gives him his abilities, I also think he is closer to the first generation then anyone realizes."

I backed away from the door now and stopped when I hit the wall, could this be correct? Could I be a descendent of the ancient race Dr. Magnus had spoke of, the one that had enslaved humanity? What kind of monsters had my ancestors been, how had they come to be…?

"The abnormal goes by many names, but are most well known by a single name, one that has many connotations in today's world…Vampires, Sanguine Vampiris."

I felt my stomach drop as my body sunk to the floor, my stomach began to twist into knots and I felt like I was going to be sick. I wanted answers, but this wasn't the answer I wanted. I'm not a monster…a freak maybe, definitely a thief, but I'm not a monster.

My mind told me to run, run away from this, but my legs buckled underneath me and I fell against the wall. I slid down the wall to the floor trying to wrap my head around all of this.

A vampire…for one thing did I didn't believe in them, ghosts, vampires, things that go bump in the night, I didn't believe in any of it. Heck, before coming to this place I didn't believe in any of the stuff I had seen in the last 24 hours, and now not only was I learning the last thing I expected to be real was actually real, but not only that, but I was one, or at least the descendent of one.

Wait…Dr. Magnus had said I was closer to the first generation then anyone realized, my god…my father, I never knew anything about him, bloody hell, was he a vampire?

My stomach felt queasy and I covered my head with my hands, I couldn't stay here, I had to leave this place. I'd pickpocket enough money, buy enough supplies and disappear into the wilderness. I can rebuild my cabin, I had it in the middle of nowhere a hundred years ago, no one ever found me. Then I can do that again hide for the next hundred years.

But I had to stand up, I had to move and I couldn't…I couldn't stand, heck, I could barely breathe, my chest was tight, was this what a heart attack felt like, or a panic attack, was that what I was experiencing, was that even physically possibly for me?

I started breathing heavy, hyperventilating, when I felt a hand on my shoulder. In any other place I wouldn't have been afraid, but in this place, who knew what was grabbing me. Needless to say I was very surprised when I looked up and saw Ashley kneeling at my side.

"Are you okay Trev?"

I raised an eyebrow in suspicion, after all, Ashley had been tailing me since I woke up here, she obviously didn't trust me, but the look on her face was general concern.

"Define okay?" She looked at the closed office door and back down at me

"I'm guessing you heard something you didn't like?"

"More like wasn't expecting." I mumbled. Ashley sighed and stood up, to my surprise she held out her hand.

"Come on, kid, let's talk."

Against my better judgment, I accepted her hand, she pulled me up and headed down the hall, sighing, I followed her, away from the talk of vampires and ancient abnormals.

She led me to the roof, one of many parts of the sanctuary I had yet to explore. She walked right to the stone wall and sat down leaning against a gargoyle. I was much more timid to do so, I was still suspicious of Ashley Magnus, and pretty sure she wanted to toss me off the roof. Even though I knew I would survive, a fall like that would hurt like hell.

"Come on, I'm not going to throw you off, I promise." Ashley spoke up, a genuine smile on her face.

"Right," I answered softly.

I took a deep breath, trust must work both ways. I slowly walked over to her and sat down against the gargoyle across from her. I couldn't help as my eyes shifted and stared in amazement. It was New City, it was just getting dusk so the lights on the buildings across the bay were just beginning to turn on. It was the most beautiful sight I had seen in a long time.

"I guess you and I kind of got off on the wrong foot, huh?" Ashley said bringing me back to reality.

I shrugged, her words not mine.

"I suppose."

"Kid, I usually don't admit stuff like this and if you tell Henry or Biggie you'll regret it, but you scared the hell out of me." I shrugged again.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." I paused. "Look, I didn't get a chance to say thank you, you saved my life…and not the way you think." I took another deep breath.

"Are you really six hundred years old?"

Now I grinned.

"Naw, I'm only about four hundred and ninety or so, maybe five hundred. To be honest I don't know." I paused and looked out at the city. "Is your mom really 157 years old?" Ashley nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what does that make you?"

Now Ashley laughed.

"Not even close to that. I'll let my mom explain it."

I nodded and sighed.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it."

"Did you figure out who shot me? Just out of curiosity."

"We have a good idea." Ashley paused. "You don't remember anything?" I pulled my knees closer to my chest and didn't answer her "Trev?"

"Who are they?"

"You really like answering questions with questions, huh?"

"It gets me my answers." I replied, "Usually."

"About a month ago we had a run in with a group called the Cabal." My stomach dropped and my mind flashed, '_You are far too valuable to let go, you belong to the Cabal you have always belonged to the Cabal.'_ "We raided this tomb in Scotland and found three powerful ghouls that they had been keeping on ice for hundreds of years. The Cabal attacked here at the Sanctuary and in order to stop the attack the sisters went back to the Cabal."

"Sisters?"

"Something to do with King Arthur and Mor—"

"Morgana LeFey?" I interrupted.

"Yeah how did you know?"

I grinned and shrugged.

"Who doesn't know the King Arthur, Merlin, and Morgana LeFey story. I remember hearing about the Moragan once, witches with unbelievable power to kill armies of men in a single thought. They were legends, folktales I'd hear." I paused. "Merlin's story was always a favorite of mine. After I lost everything, a part of me wondered if I really did possess magic like everyone believed, it would make my life easier. At first it was a thought of revenge, but then maybe I could use it to help them understand, maybe be accepted again." I put my head down. "Maybe my mother would love me again."

Ashley didn't say anything for a minute, she just looked out at New City. She seemed to hesitate for a second before she reached over and patted my shoulder once.

"I can't imagine that." I looked at her and she was actually smiling at me. "Look, my mom's going to say the same thing, but you know you can stay here for as long as you want, right?"

"Yeah, I appreciate it, but I don't stay places long. The longer you stay somewhere the easier it is to be tracked."

Now Ashley looked at me oddly.

"Tracked? You mean like last night." I didn't answer "Kid come on, you know you're safe here, right?" She paused. "I mean you've seen the defenses Henry has."

"No one is ever truly safe, anywhere. Even in their own home. Evil has a way of finding you, ignorance, death, cruelty, hatred, pain. You figure that out when you've been around a long time, after the first hundred years you still have a flicker of faith that there is a such thing as a safe place, I mean Dr. Magnus probably knows that much."

"And after?"

I put my head down.

"Right around the one hundred and ninety mark you start feeling less safe and more alone, you brush it off as loneliness and still hold out the hope that maybe you'll feel like you did when you were a kid. And by the time you're two hundred you've become a bitter recluse like myself. I haven't felt completely safe and home in over four hundred years and being here in this place isn't going to change that. A few days are all I feel safe with." I lowered my voice staring out at the city lights, wondering if I had said too much.

"You know about the Cabal, you know it was them who were following you, don't you?" I didn't say anything for a second before I nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I…I wasn't planning on staying here…I figured let your mom study me then in a few days I will be gone, and I won't bring them to you guys. I can hide myself, especially now that I know they're after me."

"So when they were chasing you-"

"I kind of made them a little angry."

Ashley put up her hand.

"Five hundred years you've been on your own right?"

"Yeah, for the most part."

"How about just giving home a try, maybe it won't be as bad as you think."

"And just forget about my arch nemesis?"

Ashley hopped off the stone ledge and held out her hand. I eyed it suspiciously.

"Let's see what my mom has to say, I think we might have an answer for even that."

XXXX

"I don't know how they got me. I'm not trusting; I wouldn't have just gone with someone," I explained. Ashley had dragged me back to Dr. Magnus's office, Will, Big Guy, Henry, Dr. Magnus and Ashley were all listening intently. I stood in front of the fire. I wasn't keen on telling this story, but Ashley kept nodding, encouraging me. "They must have drugged me with something, 'cause the next thing I know I was in lab."

"And you don't remember how you got there?" The Big Guy asked I shook my head

"I've been remember flashes since yesterday, hazy and scattered. They must have given me less of whatever I was drugged with. My healing ability also works with things in my bloodstream, it takes a strong dose to really affect me and as soon as it's taken away, my body starts to heal itself from the inside. They laxed on their security too, it was really easy for me to escape. I didn't get very far though…managed to knock one of the scientist guys out first." I paused and looked into the fire.

"Trev?" Magnus asked

"There was a lady…I don't remember why exactly, but the sound of her heels on the tile floor made my blood run cold. When I was nabbed again after my escape attempt she came up to me, looked me square in the face and told me I was their property now, that I was too valuable to lose, and that that was my home now." I looked down at my hands. "Look I'm sorry I wasn't truthful when you first asked me. I don't trust easy for obvious reasons and I didn't want to put you in danger."

"Danger?" Henry asked.

"These people were angry when I escaped the first time and all I did then was knock one of their doctors unconscious. The second escape? I killed two of their own and managed to get away. I don't know why me, I don't know if they know about my healing ability, or worse, my real age, but they wanted me for a reason, and I'm afraid they won't stop until they get me back." I reached into my pocket and felt the tag I had ripped off my backpack. I don't know why I kept it, something inside me told me not to lose it. "This was on my bag when I found it." I handed it to Dr. Magnus, she studied it for a moment reading the abbreviations carefully.

"Travis. Abn. Imm S vm." She read it aloud.

"I don't know how they knew that was my name and I can't figure out the letters."

Dr. Magnus wrote the words down on a piece of paper and handed it to Henry

"I can run an anagram type search, different word puzzlers see if I can find figure it out." Henry suggested

"Actually, I think it's easier then we think; we may be over thinking this." Will spoke up as he took the tag from Henry. He held it up for everyone to see "Abn? Who's to say that isn't short hand for Abnormal?"

I felt my stomach drop as I followed it to the couch in between Dr. Magnus and Ashley.

"Imm," I stuttered, "Immortal, they think I'm immortal."

Will exchanged a glance with Dr. Magnus.

"Right." He said handing the tag back to Dr. Magnus

"But what about the S vm?" I paused "Wait, if I'm an abnormal, you said I was a vampire right, what did you call them, a sesame vampire?"

"Sanguine Vampiris," she corrected.

"S vm." Henry replied amazed, "Makes sense."

Dr. Magnus nodded at her techie before looking back at me.

"And Trev you have to understand if this is the case you are only half, you have human genes as well as vampire."

"So I'm a blood sucking mutt as well as a freak?" I replied running my hands through my hair. I felt sick.

"No Trev, that is not true, you are not a blood sucking mutt nor are you a freak." Magnus reprimanded gently. "You are an abnormal and that is not something to be ashamed of regardless of what your genes have to say." She paused and took my hand, I flinched at first, but let her hold it. "In the morning you and I will spend some time in the library, I have a few items in there that might be of interest to you."

I nodded, not really sure if her offer was something I wanted to take or not. At this point, my brain was in overload, it along with the rest of my body was exhausted and I just wanted to sleep, I didn't care where, my body was shutting down.

"Magnus," the Big Guy gruffed, "he's exhausted."

"Or stunned," Ashley replied she leaned over and looked me straight in the eyes, "Trev, are you okay."

I didn't answer her, I felt like I had left my body, my exhausted and worn down body, and was watching from afar. I've never felt this sensation before and I wondered for a moment, was it really because I was tired or was it in fact my comfort level, did I feel ultimately safe here, did I trust Dr. Magnus and the others to the point where I was actually falling asleep in front of them?

As if to answer this question, I felt hairy hands under my arms as the big guy lifted me up. He swung me onto his back, and positioned me so my arms were securely under his neck. And instead of fighting him or struggling like I normally would've done, I let him. Quickly I blinked, my mind waking up for a brief moment. I looked at Dr. Magnus and she smiled gently at me as the Big Guy started to carry me to the office door.

"Wait," I called softly, he looked at me and grunted, "I can walk, thank you though." Giving me a small smile Biggie lowered me to the floor and patted my shoulder. I looked at the group before me, taking a deep breath. I've never been as truthful with anyone as I was about to be with them and I had no idea why I felt so comfortable. Why this sanctuary place truly felt like home. "I've gone by a lot of names in my lifetime, one name that works in one century or one place doesn't necessarily work in another. I've gone through so many sometimes I forget what my real name is."

"It's not Trev?" Will asked and I shook my head.

"No it's not. Sometimes I have to say it aloud, just to remind myself what it was, what my…my mother named me, I can honestly tell you I don't know if I ever had a last name—a real one I mean, but—" I paused, "it's Tavish, my real name is Tavish."

Magnus smiled warmly at me, she exchanged a look with the others, stood up and didn't hesitate to hug me tight. I was stunned for a moment. It's been centuries since I was last hugged like this. I didn't know, didn't remember at first how to react and slowly I returned the hug.

"Get some sleep Tavish, you and I will spend tomorrow together." She paused, "and please remember, you are safe here, no matter what the Cabal threatens we will protect you."

I felt like a knife had stabbed me through the heart, and I can honestly say I have felt that. How valuable was I to the Cabal, who would they take out to get to me? Ashley said that they attacked the Sanctuary to get to the three women. Would they attack to get me, was I really putting the Sanctuary in danger by staying here?

"Bed, now!" The Big Guy rumbled lifting me up, this was also something I wasn't used to. I mean being my size you get used to being manhandled and picked up, but usually when that happened I'm getting thrown out of something or thrown into something. But Biggie was gentle as he lifted me up and carried me down the hall.

A/N: This chapter is double feature because it was so long I had to split it, but the two chapters tie into each other. I hope you all enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

My nightmares have never been easy to handle, they've always been terrifying, brutal, very real, and smell of death, and in most cases a nightly occurrence, in many realities they match how my life has always been.

After how well I slept my first night at the Sanctuary, I probably let my guard down and since I couldn't remember the last week or so, I've been spoiled, no nightmares. So I shouldn't have been surprised that they came back with a vengeance…

I was back in London, it was night, but the streets were still crowded with men and women out for a stroll. I wasn't in the back alleys I liked to stick to, I was in the upper class districts, risky, but easy pickings.

A chap could make twice his normal take with just one of these rich bastards. I scanned the streets, something in my mind tried to remind me that this was a dream. I had lived this moment before and it was in the past, but I couldn't for the life of me remember the outcome or why I was dreaming it in the first place…and of course I had no control over my actions. I was watching this unfold, seeing and living the moment, but I was not in charge of the situation I was meant to watch and witness.

I found my mark easy enough, a middle age fool with his time piece and purse exposed for the world to see, that time piece alone would fetch enough for me to eat like a king for a week, maybe even buy myself some new threads and who knew how much was in that purse.

I moved closer, staying as inconspicuous as possible, no matter where I am I've always been good at blending in. One nudge, I'd have all I needed and I could bolt down the nearby alleyway. I was five steps behind him, getting ready to make my move when suddenly he turned and came at me with a cane.

"You thieving little bastard!" He shouted swinging the cane at my head. I ducked and hit the cobblestone with a yelp.

"I didn't do nothing!" I cried, "I was jus' walkin'!"

"You were going to pick my pocket, you little low-life." He swung the cane down at my head and I rolled to the side, for once in my life my reflexes failed me and the cane's silver handle hit my head. I felt blood dripping down my face.

"I wasn't!"

He moved to hit me again and I knew I couldn't avoid it, I was seeing double and felt woozy. I braced myself for the coming blow when a voice called out for him to stop.

"Sir, what are you doing!" It was a girl, a few years older than my apparent age, but not by much.

"Mind your own business, girl."

"I beg your pardon sir," Now a man's voice entered the scene, his voice was gruff and I heard his shoes shuffle on the cobblestone and he stopped in front of me.

I blinked and looked, trying to focus my vision, he was blocking my attacker from me. I felt hands on my arms and looked up. It was the girl who had stopped the whole attack, she was kneeling next to me and holding a cloth to my head, more surprisingly, she was protecting me.

"This street rat was about to pick my pocket." The man defended himself.

"You attacked the boy under the assumption he was to pick your pockets?" the man in front of me asked, surprised.

"Well, look at him, he obviously does not belong here and is clearly up to no good, what else am I to do, stand here and let my pocket be picked?"

Suddenly a bobby appeared, I recognized the uniform and the walk immediately, as if this night couldn't get any worse. I've had run ins with coppers quite often, to the point where I wouldn't be surprised if they recognized me and just threw me right into Bailey.

"Here, here, what is going on!" the copper asked.

"Sir, my name is Dr. Gregory Magnus, I was returning home with my daughter when we spotted this fellow," he gestured to my attacker, "turn around and attack this boy with his cane."

"That a fact?" the bobby said looking at my attacker for an explanation.

"The boy is a pickpocket, I was simply defending myself."

The copper looked at me and pulled me to my feet, the girl started to protest, but her father held her back.

"Turn out your pockets laddie and off with your hat."

Slowly I did as he asked, my head was pounding and it was taking a long time for my head to heal, the wound must have been deeper then I thought.

Luckily for me, all my pickings from the morning was safely stored at my—for lack of a better word—hideout and this was supposed to be my first pick of the night, so I had absolutely nothing on me that could be considered stolen goods.

"I was just headin' home sir, I wasn't following this gentleman, 'tisn't safe to be on the streets of London alone anymore. I was stickin' close to him because I was a bit frightened, someone had been following me a few streets back and when I saw this gentleman, especially with his cane I thought might be safer."

There'd been about a dozen or so kidnappings and murders in London in just the last week or so, so my "fear" was completely founded. And the copper seemed to understand that, he nodded and looked at my attacker.

"The boy has a point sir, I do not think he was maliciously following you, I should bring you in myself for assaulting the lad."

"It is fine, officer," I spoke up, "I probably frightened him like someone frightened me. No harm done."

Of course we both knew that was untrue, the upstanding member of London's higher class knew what I was and my intentions, and had every right to attack me, the man glared at me with such hatred I thought he would kill me on the spot.

"Well, off with you now, evening, gentlemen, miss." The copper said, tipping his hat as he finally walked off, and with one more glare, the gentleman did too, keeping me in his sight as he turned down a side street.

I looked up at Dr. Magnus and nodded my thanks.

"Why don't you come home with us lad, get cleaned up."

I started to thank him and accept his offer when suddenly I felt everything around me blur together, I wasn't on the streets of London anymore.

I was in New City, in the back alleys surrounded by homeless men and women, but of course I didn't feel uncomfortable. I knew these people and they me. The streets typically have their own codes of conduct and kids are usually number one priority, most of the homeless would rather us street kids not be there for our own sake, but they will care for and look after those of us who would rather stay on the streets.

One of my favorite people was Ol' Luke, who could have left the streets years ago, but for some reason he stayed. He's the ruler of this part of New City, the king if you will, no one remembers when Luke took over, not even Luke himself. But he's not a dictator, he takes care of everyone in his "kingdom."

"Trev," Luke exclaimed, catching my attention, "Long time youngy. Where you been?"

"Around Luke, CPS was raiding not far, Mary gave me a heads up to vanish for a while." Like with London, my words came out even though I remembered saying them, I felt as if I had said them at a different time than I was remember. I didn't remember this conversation taking place in the last week or so.

I knew Luke, of course, and the woman I mentioned, Mary an older woman who had been on the streets as long as Luke had, but I couldn't remember seeing them recently. The last time I had a memory of actually seeing Luke had been months ago not days, but I... I felt my stomach drop, I had no recollection of how long I had been held by the Cabal, could it really have been more than the days I thought could I really have been drugged for months and not know it?

"I love ya like my own grandson Trev, but didja ever consider lettin' 'em catching ya? I mean yar'e young enough, you can get adopted make something for yarself, when was the last time you was in a classroom?"

I grinned, if he only knew the real answer to that question, he'd drop dead.

"I got enough of a learning Luke, street wise, it's all I need, I ain't never going to grow up to be president or something."

Ol' Luke patted my head and chuckled

"Your usual spot is good,"

I grinned and nodded. I was thankful that Ol' Luke had protected my spot, he acts gruff and cold, but that's all it is, an act, he's a nice old guy who really reminds me of my grandfather, what I remember of him anyways.

"Thanks Luke," I replied as I started to walk off

"Trev, hold up a sec," Luke put a hand on my shoulder gently and leaned in close. "Stick close to Mary tonight okay son?"

I raised an eyebrow, unable to hide my confusion. Being a street kid you're used to certain dictations of the streets, certain rules and codes of conduct, one of the main thing is no one is going to coddle you. The older streets will look out for us, but we make the decision to stay here, as opposed to foster care or whatever hell we ran away from. We receive no babying.

"Huh?" I asked

"There's been some odd folks been hanging 'round here asking questions. Been paying much to special attention to the kids. I don't trust 'em."

"DCF?"

Luke shrugged

"Mayhab so, don't look like any busybodies I've seen round these parts. The way they

move and be questioning, real efficient like, real-"

"Military?" I finished and Luke nodded

"Yessirre, Military like."

CPS IE Child Protective Services is easy enough to avoid if you know how and believe me I know how, but military goon squads arent so easy to avoid. It made no sense why any military would be wandering skid row, less of course they were really looking for someone, a kid though, it made even less sense. I had to trust Luke though, if he thought there was reason to be concerned then damn it I better be concerned.

"Thanks Luke I replied

"Anytime Trev. Gots to keep you younguns safe, no matter how foolish y'all are."

I grinned at that and waved Luke back, heading for my spot, he gave me a gentle shove and headed for his own area

Its kind of scary that I have a 'usual spot' on the streets, it is a good one though. A small enclosed vent like structure that sits about four feet or so from the ground level, there's an old fan in side that doesn't work anymore, its rusted solid, but through the vent blows warm air every once in a while at night. Even during the summer, nights can be pretty cold on the streets, so any heat is welcome.

My spot, in addition to being warm is also pretty tight, you have to be my size or smaller to squeeze into the opening and the space I actually sleep in isn't much bigger, I have to sleep curled up, which believe it or not is actually how I tend to sleep. Don't ask me why, but I love being in tight spaces when I sleep, I've never understood why and I've never questioned it.

There's also another good thing to my spot, its location. Mary sleeps in between two dumpsters, right near my spot. She's a sweet woman in her late fifties who does whatever she can to help anyone less fortunate than she considers herself, whether its dragging someone who can't afford to skip meals to a soup kitchen or giving someone an extra blanket she has but really can't spare. She's not very big, but she makes up for it in heart and certainly attitude. I've seen her chase down a guy who stole a woman's purse and tackle him to the ground; he never knew what hit him.

Mary has also claimed to be my grandmother and godmother on many occasions when CPS or other what Luke calls busybodies come prying, looking for runaways. I can also count on Mary to cover for me, I can't be sure, but I think she's kind of adopted me, she always seems to take extra care of me, and even though I really don't need it, I feel bad turning her away.

Anyways, I waved hi to Mary as I climbed into my spot. The vent was calm for now, giving me a chance to bunker down for the night, I used my bag as a pillow and my jacket as a blanket, once that vent kicked in it be cozy in my spot a good night sleep I hadn't had since the last time I was in New City.

A tapping on the metal caught my attention and for a second my heart jumped, Luke's warning playing fresh in my mind. I've dealt with CPS enough times to handle them, but its never a fun experience.

"Teddy?" a soft voice called and I sighed with relief, grinning. Mary is the only one who calls me Teddy, it was a name I'd used decades ago, but when Luke was introducing me a year or so back to all the other homeless, Mary thought Luke called me Ted and thus Teddy stuck. I don't mind, out of all the names I've used in my long lifetime, Theodore was one of my favorites, because I took it after President Roosevelt a guy I really admired at the time and still do to this day.

"Hi Mary," I replied climbing out of my vent so I could speak to her properly. In her hand was an army blanket, I looked at it and looked back at her, shaking my head "no Mary you keep that tonight, I'm good, I've got my jacket, the vent should be kicking on soon and its warm out tonight."

"Extra padding Teddy," she insisted and I sighed, one thing you learn pretty quick about Mary is that you don't say no to her, so reluctantly I took the blanket, she tussled my hair and kissed the top of my head. "good choice Teddy." She paused her face turning serious "Luke told you about the recent visitors?"

I nodded

"Yeah, he told me, didn't sound like CPS Mary, sounded like military to be honest, probably just some idiots looking for trouble." I added trying to reassure her.

"If you need anything Teddy, call me okay? Anything, I'll keep an ear out for you and if anyone comes up to you tonight, I don't care if they're asking for directions, you give a shout and I'll deal with them."

I tried to picture Mary taking on some guy in camo gear and it was pretty hilarious, she could take 'em on and whoop 'em easily, even though many underestimate her.

"I will, thanks Mary. Night."

She patted my head and headed back to her own spot, leaving me to mine. I crawled back in and added the extra blanket to sleep on top of, it did make the spot a lot more comfortable, tough I felt guilty taking it from Mary who could've used it with her back pain, but even sneaking it back to her was dangerous, I've had my ears boxed by Mary for doing stupid stuff and that was not high on my list of stuff to do tonight.

So instead, I settled down in my spot, I felt my eyes getting heavy as I slowly began to drift off to sleep. I woke up quickly though, having only slept for what felt like minutes, there was a soft knocking on the metal, thinking it was Mary again I slid out carefully.

No sooner had my feet hit the ground; when I felt a hand on my mouth, someone was picking me up, but I couldn't scream or call for help, the hand tightened over my mouth, preventing me from calling out. They were also inadvertently cutting off my air supply. I began struggling and kicking, doing all I could to free myself.

I've been grabbed like this before and nine times out of ten, I've gotten away from my captor. But whoever had me was strong and determined, they weren't giving up and I was tiring fast, the limited oxygen was making me weaker, I wasn't struggling as much as they carried me away from my safety.

I watched in horror as someone reached into the vent and pulled out my backpack, leaving behind my jacket and the blanket from Mary…

Mary, if only I could call out to Mary, she'd have every homeless in a mile stretch here in moments and they could help me, but of course I could call out, I managed to get a small

"Help" squeaked out, before the hand clenched my face tighter, their fingers digging deep into my flesh.

Behind me I heard a van door slide open and I was carried closer to the source of that sound. I tried struggling more, but it was useless, my captor was stronger than me, I wasn't going to get away easily I felt myself being lifted up higher, then suddenly we came crashing down, my captor and me together into the back of the van.

The door slammed shut and the van started to drive away. Through the back window I could see a figure emerging from between the dumpsters, it was Mary, realizing just to late what was happening, her figure grew smaller and smaller, then vanished as we turned a corner..

I cried out as my hands were forced behind my back and I felt zip ties tighten around my small wrists, cutting into them and the hand came away from my mouth.

"Shut it freak," a harsh voice hissed in my ear

"Go to Hell!" I shouted, regretting it instantly as a foot came down on top of my shoulder hard.

"Oh wait kid, you'll know Hell soon enough."

I tried to kick anyone, I didn't care who I hit, I just wanted the satisfaction of kicking someone. No sooner did my worn sneaker collide with a body, I felt another kick to my shoulder, followed by a sharp pinch in the back of my neck…it took only seconds for me to black out completely, a voice echoing in my mind telling me "you belong to us now."

xxx


	6. Chapter 6

I hadn't realized this was a dream, it had felt so real as the dream progressed. I didn't even realize I'd been asleep, even after I had woken up from my own screams of pain and fear.

The pillow was soaked in sweat and tears as I cling to the blanket breathing heavy. I felt a weight on my chest like something was sitting on it and it was difficult to breathe properly. I couldn't help the tears that were still streaming down my face, though I don't know why I was crying, I hadn't in a long time and there was no reason now, it was simply a nightmare that's all a bloody nightmare, no reason to cry like a baby.

But there was another part of me that feared that it wasn't a simple nightmare, that it was not only real, but a memory of recent events.

However, I didn't have time to contemplate it further as the room filled with light and someone was holding me tight, rocking me.

At first I thought I was still dreaming, after all I couldn't figure out where I was, nothing looked familiar, where the hell was I? If I didn't know any better I'd swear it was my mother, I had a quick flashback of her, then shook my head, my mother was dead, long dead and considering she tried to kill me, I don't really think we were on a mother/son relationship at that point.

I tensed and tried to get away from them, after my "dreams" and a slow process of remember where I was, my instinct to flee was taking over, but whoever held me stood their ground and only held me tighter. They began humming softly; humming a familiar tune that began to calm me down and I accepted defeat, allowing the person to try and sooth me.

It took me a few seconds to realize that it was Dr. Magnus; she must have heard my shouts of terror and come running. I had to admit, she was motherly and she definitely cared about me. But when you go nearly five lifetimes without anyone who deeply cares for you and wants to look after you, it's tough to get used to that again, especially when that person is still a perfect stranger.

"Tavish?" I flinched when she said my name, and then relaxed a bit as she held me tighter "darling what's wrong?"

"Just a bad dream," I admitted, "I get them from time to time. I apologize if I worried you Dr. Magnus. I didn't wake you did I?"

"No, I am usually up long after the witching hour, not to mention, it's nearly six in the morning." She replied, she let me go giving me some space, but she wasn't leaving me completely alone, she wanted to make sure I was okay, which I appreciated, I just wasn't sure how to respond.

"Oh, okay," I said softly, not sure where to go from there; I was so out of my element it wasn't funny.

"Tavish, I could go for a spot of tea, would you care to join me?" At first I wanted to say no, try to go back to sleep and put my nightmare behind me, then again I wasn't looking forward to returning to those nightmares either. I wasn't in the mood for tea though. Dr. Magnus seemed to read my mind and smiled "does hot cocoa seem more your fancy at this hour?"

I couldn't help my grin as I nodded, better then going back to my nightmares. So I followed Dr. Magnus down the halls of the Sanctuary.

I wondered if I would stick around here long enough to learn the layout of this place, I was fascinated by it's sheer size and set up. I've got a pretty good sense of direction, it's something I've developed and perfected over the years, you have to when you live on the streets and are well…a five hundred year old kid.

In the kitchen, Dr. Magnus put a kettle on for her tea and put on a sauce pan on the stove melting a couple of chocolate bars with some milk. She wasn't making hot chocolate with the powder stuff, she was making the real stuff.

While our late night drinks simmered on the stove, Dr. Magnus and I sat at the table, she put out a plate of Oreo cookies in front of me and gently pushed it to me. I hesitated, but gave in and reached for a cookie.

"Thank you," I mumbled around the creamy filling, I love Oreo cookies, I have since they first hit store shelves, when you never know where your next meal is coming from, you tend to not be picky about what you eat, but anytime I can get my hands on an Oreo, I'm in seventh heaven. I wondered if Dr. Magnus knew these were my favorite or it was just a coincidence that these were what she pulled out for me.

"You are most welcome," she paused "would you like to talk about your nightmares?"

I sighed, _not particularly_ I thought grabbing another cookie, but Dr. Magnus looked so sincere and so caring, I couldn't help but pour my soul out to her, sorta. So I told her, I told her every creepy detail of the two nightmares, with one difference, I went backwards. I told her about the more recent dream first, my capture.

I wanted to move onto the other dream at a slower pace because I wasn't sure if that had been entirely true, I've got a pretty elaborate imagination, I wouldn't put it past myself to imagine the entire scene with a young Dr. Magnus and her father in 19th century London.

When I reached the end of the last dream I hesitated again, Dr. Magnus seemed stunned, saddened, and angry at the same time, obviously not at me, but at the idea that I was not only kidnapped, but that I was so at home on the streets.

The kettle began to whistle singling that the tea was ready as was my hot cocoa. I sat there staring at my cup as Dr. Magnus sipped her tea, the tension in the room was so thick I could feel it all around me.

I really wasn't sure if I should even go on, the whole kidnapping thing, I know that wasn't a dream, that was my mind filling in the memories that the CABAL or whatever they are had tried to steal away from me.

The part about London, that confused the hell out of me, that couldn't be real, I mean what are the odds that I would meet Dr. Magnus then, and then meet her again now. I've got hundreds of years worth of memories floating around my mind, it's nearly impossible to keep them all in check and remember what is real and what is just what I wish was real, that's what I thought this was, that I wanted to have a connection with another person so badly that I created this ridiculous scenario.

Dr. Magnus reached forward and took hold of my hand, giving it a gently squeeze, before rubbing it. That one gesture was all I needed to proceed. I told her the dream about London, I left out the names, I wanted to see her reaction to the story first, see if she remembered the event as well. She had been a child then, but then again, so was I for all intensive purposes, we were the same age that night in London and she had protected me; her and her father.

At first Dr. Magnus didn't say a word she simply sat there and listened to my story, her face unchanging throughout. When I told her how the dream cut off right then, dissolving to what I thought was only a week prior (I was seriously beginning to wonder if it was in fact months ago that the CABAL had kidnapped me), she nodded slowly, her grip on my hand tightening every once in a while.

"That's all," I replied softly, using my free hand to push my unruly mop of hair back out of my face.

"Tavish, you said you believe that both of these dreams are linked to actual events in your life?" I nodded my answer to her question "and the latter one it seems is forgotten memory?" again I nodded, "how much of that particular dream do you actually remember occurring?"

I shrugged

"I remember bits and pieces, but honestly Dr. Magnus that could have been any night in my lifetime, especially in 19th century London, it was either the streets or the work house for me back then, I didn't fancy either, but especially not the work house."

"Do you remember the date?"

It was all I could do to not burst out laughing. I was lucky most of the time to know what year it was, let alone the date. But I had to be polite, so I shook my head,

"no, I don't sorry." I paused "but I do remember names."

"Names?" Dr. Magnus asked, I stared into my cup of cocoa, wishing it could tell the story for me.

"The two that saved me from having my head bashed in, the father and daughter." I paused again "man you're going to think I'm either crazy or making this up, the guys name, the gentleman I should say, his name was Dr. Gregory Magnus." I took a deep breath "I think the little girl was you."

Dr. Magnus didn't say anything for a minute or two, she was clearly stunned, not only that but she was trying to study my face. Had I not mentioned her father's name I think my case would've been harder to prove, I've had to lie to survive most of my life, I've been told I've got a liars face, it certainly wouldn't be the first time someone didn't believe me.

Instead of questioning me, Dr. Magnus tightened her grip on my hand and stood up, gently pulling me with her.

Inside her office, she went to her desk and pulled out a very thick book. I could see newspaper clippings sticking out of it and it made me curious as to what it held.

"Tavish, please sit down." It wasn't a suggestion and in the back of my mind, I started running through exit strategies, it's instinct for me and that instinct has helped me survive. I slowly sat down, keeping my attention on the different doors, knowing which one would provide me with the quickest exit.

"I swear I don't remember it happening, I'm just telling you what I dreamed, I'm sorry." I offered, keeping my voice calm.

"Tavish, I'm not angry and I do believe you, there isnt a lot that stands out in my childhood, but I do remember that night."

I stared at her in disbelief, wondering for a second if she was humoring me.

"Right," I replied

"No, darling I do, father insisted that you come home with us, you stayed long enough to have some supper before you vanished, without a word."

I felt my mind going to work, filling in the blanks of where the dream had left off and I did remember a little bit.

"Sorry," I said, shrugging I didn't know what else to say and it seemed silly to be apologizing for something that happened over a hundred years ago, even more so since I didn't remember the said event.

"Tavish, that is not the reason I brought you into my office, what you told me sparked something in my memory and I was wondering if I was to say certain dates to you, would you be able to tell me where you were?"

I shrugged

"I can try, I don't understand why though."

"Humor me, please?"

I nodded. She began reeling off dates, specific days, years, months. None of it seemed significant to me, we moved from the late 1800s into the 1900s, I didn't understand what these dates meant. Some of the years had more days then another, 1899 for instance she really seemed fixated on, asking day after day for that year.

Every time I spoke telling her as much as I could remember about where I was on those dates, she wrote on a piece of paper, before checking with a notation made in a very old looking journal. I wasn't entirely sure why these dates were significant, but I was doing as Dr. Magnus had said, I was humoring her.

Then we reached 1912 a pretty significant date in history, but it was just another year for me, except in April, one of the only times in my life that led to me mistrusting my instincts for a few years. I should've ignored my mind telling me to get on that damn ship, but me being an idiot, I listened to it.

I did some odd jobs around Southampton and pick-pocketed the rest of the money needed to get me a ticket in steerage for the Titanic and it was one of the stupidest things I have done in my five hundred years of life, and that's saying something.

So when Dr. Magnus mentioned the date the Titanic set sail, my face contorted into look of annoyance, completely on instinct, I was not making the face at Dr. Magnus, but rather the memory of that few days on board the doomed ocean liner.

"Tavish?" Dr. Magnus asked, clearly seeing my annoyance

"Bad memories that's all."

"April 14th 1912?"

"Stupid Titanic, I don't know why I was onboard to begin with, something just told me I needed to get to New York ASAP and the Titanic was my fastest option. I knew I should've waited a few days and taken the other ship."

Dr. Magnus was staring at me in disbelief

"Did you make it to a lifeboat?" she asked, it was kind of a silly question, we both clearly knew I somehow made it to a lifeboat, but I think her question was more directed to before the ship went down.

"I was in steerage, but I'm small, I actually managed to get make my way up to the upper decks. All the boats were gone by the time I got up there. Everyone up there was panicking, I mean rightly so nearly all of them were going to die and they knew it." I put my head down "I can't swim very well, it's funny huh? I mean five hundred years old or so and I never really learned to swim, never needed too." I paused "could've used it that night though."

"So what happened?"

"I stayed on as long as I thought I could. I was just about say: 'the hell with it' and take my chances in the water, when this old guy came up to me. He put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me from jumping, like he could read my mind. He told me I'd never make it without a lifebelt and he gave up his. I tried to refuse, but he wouldn't take no for an answer, he literally forced the belt on me. He stayed with me, at the stern of the ship until it really became noticeable that it was going to nose dive, he held onto me, his arm around my shoulders. A couple of rich buggers tried to pull the belt off of me, saying something about a little worthless steerage urchin shouldn't have better odds then someone of their pedigree. The old guy actually threatened to shoot them if they put a hand on me, he had a gun hidden in his cane and waved it at them. They were so scared they jumped into the water, I don't think either of them survived the jump. When the ship started to go up, he held onto me, helping me over the railing, he never once let go of my arm. It was like he was protecting me." I paused "I don't remember much after the ship went down. I'm pretty sure I imagined it, but a few months later when I'd think back, I have no idea how I managed to get back to the surface, the suction should've pulled me right down with the ship even with the lifebelt on."

"How do you think you did?"

I heh'd a little

"To be honest? I think the old guy threw me far enough away from the suction before the ship went completely under, it seemed impossible at the time and I put in out of my mind. Now that I'm thinking of it, here after everything I've seen. I'm very sure he did something to get me away from the main suction, I just don't remember what."

"What do you remember?"

"Not much, I remember how cold the water was, I remember wondering if it was possible for me to freeze to death and if so, what would happen when I healed from that." I paused "I'm pretty sure I passed out or something, cause the next thing I remember, I'm in a lifeboat, two women are taking turns cradling me close, they've got me wrapped in blankets and a fur coat. They rubbed my arms, trying to warm me up as best they could. I don't remember their faces, but I do remember one of them had a strong smell of perfume, I don't think she'd touched the water, but the other woman, she definitely had been in the water. I could smell the salt water, and her hair, it kept brushing against my face and it was stung a little, it shouldn't have though, I mean I was frozen, I don't know why I remember that part."

"What happened after the Carpathia arrived?"

I coughed, trying to suppress a scoff. It wasn't directed at Dr. Magnus of course, but the treatment I received, what a few of us received after the ordeal we had all gone through.

"They got us all on deck, of course most of the first class passengers had survived and most had papers and documents, and some even had their dogs. Those who were clearly first and second class passengers were whisked away to the upper decks to be cared for. The two women, I still can't remember their faces, but I clearly remember both of them holding onto me tight, neither wanted to let go of me as the crew member forced us apart. I was obviously third class if not lower and was sent to be with my kind. I never saw the two ladies again. As soon as we docked in New York, the handful of us kids who had lost our parents or were to young to tell anyone much information, we were processed at Elis Island and brought to the island orphanage until it could be determined where we belonged. The surviving crew members of the Titanic had the ships manifest and were going through passenger names matching each kid to the name. There was about fifteen kids that were sent back, no choice in the matter, the New York orphanages refused to take them and they had no family meeting them. I was supposed to be one of those kids, but I slipped off the island and made a break for it into the city. I'm good at making myself scarce. I did regret not finding either of the two ladies who kept me warm to thank them, and I always wondered what happened to the old guy who saved me in the first place. I never knew any of their names; I never got the chance to thank them."

Dr. Magnus had the same look on her face from earlier, when I had mentioned her father's name a mix of surprise and even confusion.

She was just about to tell me something when a loud knocking pounded on her door.

"Doc!" Henry shouted

"Come in Henry," Dr. Magnus replied, sighing, Henry came rushing in, he looked out of breath and was holding some wiring in his hand. "Yes Henry?"

"Oh, sorry Doc," he replied grinning "I was wondering if you'd seen-" then Henry spotted me "Hah! The kid! I was wondering, can I borrow Trev for a second?"

I kind of grinned a little, despite telling everyone my real name, Henry insisted on calling me Trev or Kid, I had a feeling both were nicknames I wouldn't be losing anytime soon.

"What again do you need Tavish for?"

"I was doing some rewiring in the habitats and I thought he'd be the perfect assistant." Henry paused and looked right at me hopefully "what do you say Trev? You up for helping a guy out?"

I shrugged

"Sure I guess so."

"Excellent, how do you feel about small spaces?"

Now I raised my eyebrow and looked over at Dr. Magnus, she clearly wanted to finish our conversation, but I felt I had told enough for the day. I'm not the kind of person who spills their heart and soul out to people, I have to keep my secrets at least some of them to myself to protect myself, I had shared my comfort level for the day. She seemed to realize that as well and nodded.

"Small spaces?" I asked

"You'll see, I promise nothing dangerous nothing death defying." Henry slung an arm around my shoulder and guided me to the door.

I glanced back at Dr. Magnus, she smiled at me gently and I took a deep breath, I really hoped I wasn't getting to comfortable in this place; it would only make things tougher when I did finally leave. I also had to think something else over, clearly Dr. Magnus knew something, she wanted to tell me something before Henry had come knocking, I wondered for a second did it have something to do with our meeting in London over a hundred and fifty years ago, or was it something else, something to do with the Titanic?

XXXXX

A/N:

I just want to give a thank you shout out to the four reviews I have received so far on this fic, in my mind this isnt my best work, but I have been both humbled and amazed by the amount of interest in this fic and the four wonderful people who have reviewed So thank you Sharpsnout, Guest (I wish you had used a name so I could thank you by name) onnthecoast6, and necross2067. You guys don't know how much it means to me to see your reviews and to all the people who have put this fic on their alerts or have Favorited it, I appreciate you guys so much too. Till next update! Merry Christmas everyone and Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

Turns out Henry hadn't been kidding about the size of the vent, I stared at it for a second before looking at him expectantly.

"You've got to be joking." I said

"It'll be fine," Henry replied as he fixed the strap to the headlamp on me. I knew I must've looked ridiculous, but Henry was nice about the whole thing and didn't laugh once, he did crack a small smile, as he tied a rope around my waist.

"Right, till I run into the world's biggest rat and it tries to eat me."

"You mean Bill? Naw he's harmless, and besides he's a vegetarian." Henry explained

I stared at him, looking for a hint that he was lying, I've gotten pretty good over the last few hundred years at telling when someone is lying to me, but I had a sinking feeling, Henry wasn't lying about a giant rat named Bill whose a vegetarian.

I'm not a fan of rats, haven't been since the 17th century. London was crawling (no pun intended) with them and I've been attacked by my fair share of 'em. If I didn't heal so quick, I'd have the scars to prove it. In the 1600s I gave a new profession a try, catching rats for fights, Some of the buyers paid pretty good and at the time I wasn't scared of rats and certainly not scared of tunnels, I'd crawl through London's sewers searching for the rodents, the bigger and meaner the better and I was good at catching those exact ones.

Till I went to Paris to try the same thing, the need for rat catchers for fighting was in just as much high demand as in London, so me being an idiot I went into the catacombs and promptly got lost. I've got a pretty good sense of direction now, but back then I was still young, young, stupid, and cocky.

I was so sure of myself that I didn't stop to think about what I was doing. I stumbled into a large nest of rats and figured I'd hit the jackpot, as soon as I caught a good amount I'd figure out how to get out. That didn't go as well as I planned, stupid rats attacked me, and I fell through a weak part in the wall.

I learned that time around that it was possible for me to die and of course revive from pretty serious injuries, I'm pretty sure I broke nearly every bone in my body and died from those injuries.

I remember waking up in a pile of water, with a rat about to gnaw on my nose, hence, why I don't like the little buggers anymore.

I shuddered at that memory and Henry raised an eyebrow, he started to ask if I was okay, but I asked my question first, changing the subject.

"So, I just got to go in there and do what exactly?"

"This connects right to the main elevator shaft," Henry explained he handed me a bulb and some copper wiring. "You'll see the old bulb and wiring as soon as you get to the end of the vent all you have to do is replace it. If you get stuck" I narrowed my eyes at Henry "okay my bad, if you get a little nervous, give the rope a tug and I'll start pulling you back." Henry put a small dolly on the floor and gestured to it. "Wheel yourself in and I pull you back piece of cake."

My stomach growled a little at the mention of cake, I was hungry and hadn't realized it until just now. Henry heard my stomach growl and laughed a little

"Sorry," I said

"As soon as you do this kid, I'll have the Big Guy fix you a giant breakfast."

I grinned

"Sounds good to me."

I took a deep breath, knelt down on the board, and started to push myself into the vent. At first I was fine, it was a little stuffy inside, but wasn't anything I couldn't handle. But the deeper I went in, the more panic started to set in, I was having flashbacks, some recent stuff like my escape from the CABAL, but some older stuff too, like my time trapped in the catacombs.

When you're as old as I am, you have to use whatever you can to survive and unfortunately one way I had to survive was to emerge myself in the world of stealing. That kind of lifestyle, well it not only attracts some pretty bad people, but it also attracts the authorities.

I've been arrested and thrown in various prisons around the world more times then I'd like to admit too. I'm good at what I do, I'm one of the best pickpockets around, but like I said you attract bad people who screw you over and turn you in, or you take a job that brings so much risk that it's impossible to not get caught.

There was this one job I did in 1922 in Berlin, simply enough, a local watchmaker always left his door unlocked and had hundreds of dollars in jewelry in his shop. It was supposed to be easy, get inside, get as much as I could carry and bolt.

I had a buyer lined up and everything, I was barely inside before the cops were on me in seconds. Someone tipped them off and I never found out who, though I long suspected a friend and fellow pickpocket who wanted the score for himself, but I never saw him again and couldn't prove it.

Despite my physical age, they had no problem throwing me in jail to wait for a magistrate, who sentenced me to two years at a labor camp. Yeah that didn't happen; I escaped the night before the transport. But those two nights in that jail cell was two of the most terrifying nights in my life, and considering the life I've led that's saying something.

Rats running around, the god-awful smell, it was freezing in there and so dark, no light was able to penetrate the deep cellar of the jail, the taste of despair hung in the air. Escape had been tough, but I'm not a big guy, I was actually able to wiggle my way out through a crack in the foundation. I've never been good with small dark spaces, not since Paris and that night in 1922, sealed that distaste with total fear.

I barely made it to the end of the vent, before I felt the panic really taking hold. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down, I had promised Henry I'd help with this job, it shouldn't be this difficult. I had come face to face with bigfoot, a mermaid, heard that vampires actually exist and I might be related to one, and I had escaped from virtually a mad scientist laboratory, I should be able to handle a vent.

"How's it coming in there?" Henry's voice echoed through the vent, my throat felt dry and I couldn't answer him for a moment, I was definitely having a panic attack, I've had them before, but this was certainly going to be a bad one.

"Nearly done," I replied, my voice shaking and I hoped that Henry couldn't hear the change in my voice.

Quickly and carefully I did what I was sent into the vent to do, I replaced what Henry needed and gave the rope a tug when I was done, so he could wheel me back.

As Henry did so my mind began flashing back again, memories that had been hidden from me began trickling back, I felt dizzy, the room was spinning…

I never felt myself going out, all I know is when I opened my eyes, suddenly I wasn't in a vent in the Sanctuary; I was back in the laboratory.

I was strapped in the chair but I could move a little, as I struggled against the bonds that held me down.

"Oh, look how angry he is," a female voice cooed, like she was pretending to be sympathetic but her voice just oozed with pleasure and amusement. "Struggle all you want Tavish, those cuffs are stronger then you'll ever be."

I felt the air move around me as she came closer and into my line of sight, it was the woman whose heels had made my heart skip a beat from fright, the one from the room…this room that I had escaped from, the one from the hall, Whitcomb, Dana maybe, I don't know why I suddenly knew her name.

She reached out to touch my face and I pulled away from her quickly, moving my head as far away as I could, which is to say not very far.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed

"So rude isn't he?" she replied, "now Tavish, that is no way to talk to your new guardians is it?"

_Guardians_ I thought, who the hell is she to call herself my guardian, I'm nearly five hundred years old I take care of myself.

"Go to hell," I answered. Almost instantly I felt her hands on my chin, clutching my face tight, her long nails digging into my skin, I squirmed trying in vain to get away from her. I don't like being touched; it always feels like an electric shock going through my body when someone I don't know touches me, grabbing me or holding me, I don't like it, but there was nothing I could do, I was trapped on this chair. There was just enough wiggle room on the cuff that held my ankle for me to kick out a little and I managed to kick someone, it wasn't her, but still made me feel better.

To answer that, she tightened her hold on my face, I could feel her nails puncturing my skin and felt blood dripping down my cheeks and I tried not to cry out or even wince.

Being such a small wound, as soon as she let go of my face, I felt the usual tingling sensation as my body healed itself.

She smiled victoriously and patted the top of my head. Reaching my last resort, I tried to bite her, that seemed to amuse her even more as she actually started to laugh, joined by a few other different laughter, I counted at least four others in this room, I couldn't see them because of the angle they had the chair positioned.

"Hold still Tavish, this will only sting a moment," she said smartly and out of the corner of my eye I saw a syringe. My eyes went wide and I began struggling more, trying to use all my strength to escape, letting my adrenaline take over, nothing worked.

"Let me go, let me go, no, no" I yelled as loud as I could, this just brought more laughter as I felt the pinch in my arm.

Suddenly my body began to feel warm, it started at the injection site, before I felt the warmth traveling through my veins and throughout my body. Not only did I feel this warmth, but suddenly I felt numb…I still felt the warmth, but I couldn't move anymore, it was like I had lost control of my body, I couldn't even wiggle my fingers, couldn't move my head…I don't even know how I was still breathing because it felt like my entire body had gone stiff.

"That's better, you were going to hurt yourself with all that wiggling around. So much easier to talk to you this way,"

"what did you do to me?" I asked…I could still talk how the hell was that possible.

"Just made you a little more comfortable, a little more compliant." She answered, I felt her hands, her nails rather once again on my face, but this time there wasn't anything I could do about it, I was not in control of my body at all. Her hand moved from my face down my neck to my bare chest and to my side where her fingers thumbed gently against my ribs. "Amazing." She whispered not really sounding amazed at all.

In my mind I flinched from her touch, but my body did not follow the order from my brain. The warmth had navigated my entire body, but it was not done with it's task as it moved towards my brain and I suddenly understood what she meant by compliant, I felt like I was in a fog, part of me wanting to fight, but the other part felt relaxed and dazed.

"What…do you want from me?" I asked, that was my voice, but…at the same time it didn't feel like mine.

"I will be asking the questions Tavis, you will answer them honestly and provide as much information as you are able."

"Yes ma'am." I replied _No, no you idiot, shut up don't answer their questions_ part of my mind shouted, the compliant part was winning the battle, the part of my conscience that wanted to fight and not answer any questions was not going to win this fight.

"What is your full name?"

"Tavish, I do not have a clan name, I was born in the village of the Cameron Clan… raised as the chieftains son, despite no kinship." My words came out so robotic, but I had no control over them, I couldn't stop myself and believe me I tried.

"What year were you born?"

I had told Dr. Magnus I didn't remember the exact year I was born and in my normal memory I didn't, I didn't remember the clan name or anything like that. The first time I had ever saw something that resembled the Gregorian calendar was in 1607. Whatever concoction that this Whitcomb woman had injected me with was digging deep into my memories, pulling out information that I didn't know existed, information that for whatever reason had been kept from my conscious being.

"1303." I replied _what_?! That made no sense I was nowhere near that old, how could three hundred years pass and me not realize it…how could I could possibly be seven hundred years old. The wars I could remember, when I was very small I could remember my grandfather and the other men going off to fight, but I never placed who or what the fighting was about… wars and fighting were so normal, it was never anything to give a second thought about.

Had I been alive for the first war of Scottish Independence? I had always believed I was born in a Scotland that was under English rule a hated, but accepted practice…could it be possible that I had actually be born to a Scotland that was still desperately fighting to rid itself of the English tyranny, when heroes I had read about like Robert the Bruce and William Wallace were alive and fighting for our freedom. Did I actually live in the same century, the same years even as those great men? Was I actually born two hundred years before I had always believed I was?

"How is it you have been alive all these years?"

"I do not know," trapped in my mind I groaned, of all the things to not know the answer too that's the one my mind decided on.

"How is it that a wound to your body heals so quickly?" Ms. Whitcomb asked, I could hear it in her voice, she knew the answer to both those questions and she was asking for the sake of asking,

"I do not know."

I saw her pull out another syringe

"I want him under surveillance at all times. Find a dosage that will keep him sedated as much as possible, have an IV going if you must. I want blood samples from him, as much as is needed. This is one subject we do not need to worry about dying from blood loss."

I wanted to lash out again, I wasn't a science experiment to be poked and prodded, they had no right to keep me here.

I felt a pinch in my arm as the needle pierced my skin. I felt my world going black, the room was fading and then…nothing.

When I opened my eyes I was in the med-lab of the Sanctuary, Dr. Magnus was looking at a machine and Big Guy was sitting next to the bed I was in, reading. I couldn't help the groan as my head pounded. Biggie looked up and put a huge hairy hand on my forehead, I normally would have squirmed away, he still kind of freaked me out, but I actually felt comforted by the gesture.

"Magnus, he's awake." Biggie grunted,

"Tavish are you okay?" Magnus asked joining Big Guy near my bed

"I…er…yeah," I managed to reply

"Henry said you were helping him out and you passed out inside the vent."

I nodded that was the truth

"You do not have fever," Biggie added putting his hand back on my forehead "what happened?"

I took a deep breath, the memory was still fresh in my mind, I understood what was happening. Whatever drugs the CABAL had been using to keep me sedated had messed with my memory, that much I knew before hand, considering I had a month of missing memories I couldn't account for. The healing ability my body has, must have been fighting the drugs for days now, and it finally made a dent in clearing them from my system. Why it had come back in that vent I didn't understand, I also didn't understand why it had caused me to pass out.

Magnus looked at me concerned, as did Big Guy

"M…my memories are coming back," I said softly "and there's something you need to know." I wasn't sure how to tell Dr. Magnus or Biggie, but I owed them the truth and if my memories were coming back, maybe by telling Dr. Magnus and the others, maybe they could help me figure out why the CABAL wanted me in the first place…or better yet, how they knew about me and knew my past, even when I didn't.

XXX

A/N: So, two parts of Tavish's past are slowly being unveiled, both some of his time in captivity by the CABAL and his more distant past. Sorry this took so long to update, I've been working as hard as I could on it, but had to put it on pause due to writers block. However the next chapter will be uploaded in a timely fashion and will feature a member of the Five. Till then! Thank you to all the people who have reviewed and Favorited this fic, I appreciate it.


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